Short Interest in Sprott Focus Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ:FUND) Grows By 210.4%

Sprott Focus Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ:FUND) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 38,704 shares, a growth of 210.4% from the June 30th total of 12,468 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 54,215 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.7 days.

Insider Transactions at Sprott Focus Trust

In related news, Portfolio Manager W Whitney George purchased 71,664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.63 per share, for a total transaction of $690,124.32. Following the completion of the purchase, the portfolio manager directly owned 3,326,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,031,238.59. This trade represents a 2.20% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 52.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sprott Focus Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Sprott Focus Trust by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 579,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,291,000 after buying an additional 82,892 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sprott Focus Trust by 20.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 13,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Sprott Focus Trust by 203.4% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 50,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 33,815 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sprott Focus Trust by 126.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 45,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 25,425 shares during the period. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC raised its position in Sprott Focus Trust by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 80,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636 shares during the last quarter. 12.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sprott Focus Trust Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ FUND opened at $9.90 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $9.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.77. Sprott Focus Trust has a 12 month low of $7.50 and a 12 month high of $10.47.

Sprott Focus Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.1424 per share. This represents a $0.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. This is an increase from Sprott Focus Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th.

About Sprott Focus Trust

Sprott Focus Trust, Inc is a closed‐end management investment company trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker FUND. Externally managed by Sprott Asset Management LP, the trust offers investors targeted exposure to publicly traded companies that generate revenue through precious metals royalty and streaming agreements. By focusing on this segment, the trust provides a specialized approach to gaining potential income and capital appreciation tied to gold, silver and other base metal production.

The investment strategy centers on assembling a diversified portfolio of royalty and streaming firms with long‐life assets, stable cash flow profiles and strong growth outlooks.