Short Interest in First Trust Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:FGB) Increases By 53.1%

First Trust Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:FGB) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 37,200 shares, a growth of 53.1% from the September 30th total of 24,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 55,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days.

First Trust Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund Price Performance

First Trust Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund stock opened at $4.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $4.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.91. First Trust Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund has a 1 year low of $2.98 and a 1 year high of $4.19.

First Trust Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hartline Investment Corp bought a new stake in First Trust Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund during the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Trust Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund in the first quarter valued at about $52,000. Shaker Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in First Trust Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund in the second quarter worth about $52,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in First Trust Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund in the second quarter worth about $372,000. Finally, Alpine Global Management LLC grew its holdings in First Trust Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC now owns 100,000 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 10,654 shares in the last quarter.

About First Trust Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund

First Trust Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by First Trust Advisors L.P. It is co-managed by Confluence Investment Management LLC. The fund invests in the public equity markets of the United States. It seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating in the specialty finance and other financial sectors.