Short Interest in Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (NYSE:USA) Rises By 80.0%

Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (NYSE:USA) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 229,500 shares, a growth of 80.0% from the December 15th total of 127,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 630,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days.

Liberty All-Star Equity Fund Stock Performance

Shares of USA stock traded up $0.10 on Friday, reaching $7.18. The company had a trading volume of 529,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 815,383. The company has a 50-day moving average of $7.15 and a 200-day moving average of $7.02. Liberty All-Star Equity Fund has a 12 month low of $6.27 and a 12 month high of $7.49.

Liberty All-Star Equity Fund Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty All-Star Equity Fund

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in Liberty All-Star Equity Fund by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 160,495 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,140,000 after buying an additional 1,565 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Liberty All-Star Equity Fund by 0.7% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 288,443 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,048,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Liberty All-Star Equity Fund by 3.6% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 55,819 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,935 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Liberty All-Star Equity Fund by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 17,507 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 2,393 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning increased its stake in Liberty All-Star Equity Fund by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 72,219 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares in the last quarter. 9.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Liberty All-Star Equity Fund

Liberty All Star Equity Fund is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by ALPS Advisers, Inc The fund is co-managed by Aristotle Capital Management, LLC, Pzena Investment Management, LLC, Delaware Investments Fund Advisers, Sustainable Growth Advisers, LP, and TCW Investment Management Company.