John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II (NYSE:HPF) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II (NYSE:HPF) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 30,700 shares, a growth of 74.4% from the February 28th total of 17,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 41,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.7 days.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II Stock Performance

NYSE HPF opened at $16.70 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.89 and a 200-day moving average of $17.28. John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II has a 52-week low of $15.39 and a 52-week high of $19.00.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.1235 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II by 1.0% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 141,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,639,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II during the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,390 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 1,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II by 58.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 19,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 7,000 shares during the period.

About John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC. It is co-managed by John Hancock Asset Management. The fund invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. It seeks to invest in securities of companies operating across diversified sectors.