John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II (NYSE:HPF) Short Interest Update

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II (NYSE:HPF) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 41,100 shares, an increase of 33.9% from the March 15th total of 30,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 40,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Institutional Trading of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HPF. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 155,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,569,000 after purchasing an additional 10,847 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 43,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 4,290 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II in the fourth quarter worth $575,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II by 58.1% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 29,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 10,854 shares during the period.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II Stock Performance

HPF stock opened at $15.40 on Monday. John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II has a 1-year low of $14.56 and a 1-year high of $19.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $16.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.00.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.1235 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th.

About John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC. It is co-managed by John Hancock Asset Management. The fund invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. It seeks to invest in securities of companies operating across diversified sectors.