Sprott Focus Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ:FUND) Short Interest Up 11.4% in September

Sprott Focus Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ:FUND) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,900 shares, an increase of 11.4% from the August 31st total of 4,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 28,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Shaker Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Sprott Focus Trust by 10.2% during the second quarter. Shaker Financial Services LLC now owns 995,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,466,000 after buying an additional 92,476 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sprott Focus Trust during the first quarter valued at $1,867,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sprott Focus Trust during the second quarter valued at $1,226,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Sprott Focus Trust by 4.8% during the second quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 134,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after buying an additional 6,198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sprott Inc. raised its stake in Sprott Focus Trust by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 114,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $915,000 after buying an additional 3,397 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.63% of the company’s stock.

Sprott Focus Trust Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of FUND traded up $0.04 on Friday, reaching $7.72. The stock had a trading volume of 32,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,149. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.74. Sprott Focus Trust has a 12-month low of $6.75 and a 12-month high of $8.11.

Sprott Focus Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.1301 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Sprott Focus Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13.

Sprott Focus Trust Company Profile

Sprott Focus Trust, Inc is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Sprott Asset Management, LP. The fund is co-managed by Sprott Asset Management USA Inc It invests in the public equity markets of the United States. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors.