iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF (NASDAQ:IJT) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF (NASDAQ:IJT) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 97,583 shares, a growth of 29.1% from the March 15th total of 75,580 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 107,593 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IJT. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF by 238.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $942,000 after buying an additional 5,331 shares during the period. Flow Traders U.S. LLC acquired a new position in iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF during the 2nd quarter worth $256,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF during the 2nd quarter worth $220,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its stake in iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 31,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.81% of the company’s stock.

iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF Price Performance

Shares of IJT stock traded up $3.74 on Friday, hitting $159.83. The stock had a trading volume of 168,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 110,833. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.21 and a beta of 1.05. iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF has a 1 year low of $112.84 and a 1 year high of $161.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $149.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.57.

iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th.

About iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF

iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF, formerly iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Growth Index Fund (the Fund), seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P SmallCap 600 Growth Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the small-capitalization growth sector of the United States equity market and consists of those stocks in the S&P SmallCap 600 Index exhibiting the strongest growth characteristics. The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index.