First Trust S&P 500 Diversified Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NASDAQ:KNGZ) Short Interest Up 78.7% in March

First Trust S&P 500 Diversified Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NASDAQ:KNGZ) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,400 shares, an increase of 78.7% from the February 28th total of 7,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

First Trust S&P 500 Diversified Dividend Aristocrats ETF Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of KNGZ traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $31.86. 9,324 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,695. First Trust S&P 500 Diversified Dividend Aristocrats ETF has a 52 week low of $29.87 and a 52 week high of $35.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.52. The company has a market cap of $46.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05 and a beta of 0.97.

First Trust S&P 500 Diversified Dividend Aristocrats ETF Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.1558 per share. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 27th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tandem Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Trust S&P 500 Diversified Dividend Aristocrats ETF during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. bought a new position in First Trust S&P 500 Diversified Dividend Aristocrats ETF during the fourth quarter valued at $192,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in First Trust S&P 500 Diversified Dividend Aristocrats ETF during the fourth quarter valued at $233,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in First Trust S&P 500 Diversified Dividend Aristocrats ETF by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 9,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in shares of First Trust S&P 500 Diversified Dividend Aristocrats ETF by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 15,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $492,000 after buying an additional 4,440 shares during the period.

First Trust S&P 500 Diversified Dividend Aristocrats ETF Company Profile

The First Trust S&P 500 Diversified Dividend Aristocrats ETF (KNGZ) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in large cap equity. The fund tracks a sector-neutral US large-cap index selected and weighted based on dividend history and yield. KNGZ was launched on Jun 20, 2017 and is issued by First Trust.