Short Interest in John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund (NYSE:HEQ) Increases By 30.3%

John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund (NYSE:HEQ) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 24,100 shares, an increase of 30.3% from the December 15th total of 18,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 31,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Logan Stone Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund by 8.5% in the second quarter. Logan Stone Capital LLC now owns 68,435 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $711,000 after acquiring an additional 5,335 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund by 9.1% in the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 48,914 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 4,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 13,227 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 2,471 shares during the period.

John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:HEQ traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $10.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 33,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,513. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.60 and a 200-day moving average of $10.67. John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund has a 12-month low of $9.57 and a 12-month high of $11.12.

John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.53%.

About John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund

John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC. The fund is co-managed by Wellington Management Company LLP. It invests in the public equity markets of the United States. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors.