John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III (NYSE:HPS) Short Interest Up 55.7% in March

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III (NYSE:HPS) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 183,780 shares, a growth of 55.7% from the March 15th total of 118,024 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 68,287 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS Group AG raised its stake in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,173,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,907,000 after acquiring an additional 31,695 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 296,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,270,000 after acquiring an additional 2,126 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 268,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,142,000 after acquiring an additional 32,293 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 161,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,329,000 after acquiring an additional 4,002 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 147,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,284,000 after acquiring an additional 898 shares during the period.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE HPS opened at $14.35 on Tuesday. John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III has a one year low of $13.80 and a one year high of $15.68. The business’s fifty day moving average is $14.52 and its 200-day moving average is $14.78.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 13th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III Company Profile

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III (NYSE:HPS) is a publicly traded, closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide a high level of current income. The fund offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of income-producing securities, with a primary focus on preferred stocks and similar instruments. As a closed-end fund, HPS issues a fixed number of shares that trade on the New York Stock Exchange, allowing investors to participate in its income strategy through the open market.

The fund pursues its objective by investing primarily in preferred securities of U.S.