ProShares Ultra Utilities (NYSEARCA:UPW) Short Interest Down 66.4% in March

ProShares Ultra Utilities (NYSEARCA:UPW) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 13,533 shares, a drop of 66.4% from the March 15th total of 40,251 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 25,239 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.5 days.

ProShares Ultra Utilities Trading Down 2.4%

UPW traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $25.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 23,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,887. ProShares Ultra Utilities has a twelve month low of $17.24 and a twelve month high of $26.80. The stock has a market cap of $24.55 million, a P/E ratio of 21.21 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.62.

ProShares Ultra Utilities Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th were issued a dividend of $0.0682 per share. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 25th.

Institutional Trading of ProShares Ultra Utilities

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IMC Chicago LLC acquired a new stake in ProShares Ultra Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $646,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in ProShares Ultra Utilities by 278.1% in the 4th quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 27,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 20,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ProShares Ultra Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000.

About ProShares Ultra Utilities

ProShares Ultra Utilities (the Fund) seeks daily investment results that correspond to twice (200%) the daily performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Utilities Index (the Index). The Fund intends to invest at least 80% of its net assets, including any borrowings for investment purposes, under normal circumstances, to equity securities contained in the Index and/or financial instruments that, in combination, have similar economic characteristics. The Fund also intends to invest assets not invested in financial instruments, in debt instruments and/or money market instruments.