Short Interest in Virtus Total Return Fund Inc. (NYSE:ZTR) Expands By 75.6%

Virtus Total Return Fund Inc. (NYSE:ZTR) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 87,848 shares, a growth of 75.6% from the July 30th total of 50,038 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 121,279 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.7 days. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtus Total Return Fund

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Virtus Total Return Fund by 74.9% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 71,282 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 30,517 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Virtus Total Return Fund by 85.1% during the 2nd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 73,618 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $459,000 after acquiring an additional 33,844 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Virtus Total Return Fund by 33.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 338,441 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,108,000 after acquiring an additional 85,767 shares during the period. Sculptor Capital LP raised its position in shares of Virtus Total Return Fund by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 346,864 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,161,000 after acquiring an additional 30,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Virtus Total Return Fund by 150.8% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 65,798 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 39,567 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.14% of the company’s stock.

Virtus Total Return Fund Price Performance

Shares of Virtus Total Return Fund stock opened at $6.83 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.78. Virtus Total Return Fund has a 12-month low of $6.17 and a 12-month high of $7.11.

Virtus Total Return Fund Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.055 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.7%.

About Virtus Total Return Fund

Virtus Total Return Fund, Inc (NYSE: ZTR) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide investors with high total return with moderate income. The fund, which began operations in 2005, trades on the New York Stock Exchange and is sponsored by Virtus Investment Partners. ZTR offers investors access to a diversified mix of fixed-income and equity opportunities within a single vehicle.

To pursue its stated objective, the fund typically allocates across a broad range of asset classes, including corporate debt securities, high-yield bonds, convertible securities, preferred stocks, common stocks and real estate investment trusts (REITs).