John Hancock Preferred Income Fund (NYSE:HPI) Short Interest Up 11.2% in September

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund (NYSE:HPI) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 65,300 shares, a growth of 11.2% from the August 31st total of 58,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 46,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On John Hancock Preferred Income Fund

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 18,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391 shares during the period. CWM LLC acquired a new stake in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund by 9.8% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 274,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,571,000 after acquiring an additional 24,559 shares during the period. TSP Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund by 10.5% in the first quarter. TSP Capital Management Group LLC now owns 125,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,086,000 after acquiring an additional 11,950 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund by 10.5% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 2,086 shares during the period.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund Stock Performance

HPI traded up $0.11 on Tuesday, reaching $19.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 49,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,507. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $17.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.91. John Hancock Preferred Income Fund has a fifty-two week low of $12.85 and a fifty-two week high of $19.10.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.1235 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.78%. This is an increase from John Hancock Preferred Income Fund’s previous monthly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th.

About John Hancock Preferred Income Fund

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund is a closed ended balanced 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 public equity and fixed income markets of the United States. It seeks to invest in securities of companies operating across diversified sectors.