First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund (NASDAQ:QABA) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund (NASDAQ:QABA) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 500 shares, a decrease of 97.9% from the February 29th total of 23,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 32,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.0 days.

Institutional Trading of First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund by 237.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 423,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,282,000 after purchasing an additional 298,250 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund by 852.4% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 286,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,057,000 after acquiring an additional 256,248 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund by 509.4% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 160,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,018,000 after acquiring an additional 134,490 shares during the period. Luken Investment Analytics LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,022,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund by 4.2% during the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 102,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,117,000 after acquiring an additional 4,161 shares during the period.

First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund Stock Performance

First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund stock traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $46.54. 9,422 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 28,689. The stock has a market cap of $93.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.92. First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund has a 12-month low of $34.59 and a 12-month high of $51.39. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.19.

First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.2733 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 21st.

About First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund

The First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund (QABA) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the NASDAQ OMX ABA Community Bank index. The fund tracks an index of NASDAQ-listed banks and thrifts, excluding the 50 largest. QABA was launched on Jun 29, 2009 and is managed by First Trust.