Sprott Focus Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ:FUND) Short Interest Up 30.8% in October

Sprott Focus Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ:FUND - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,100 shares, a growth of 30.8% from the September 30th total of 3,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 35,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days.

Insider Activity at Sprott Focus Trust

In other news, Portfolio Manager W Whitney George sold 26,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.58, for a total value of $197,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the portfolio manager now owns 321,114 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,434,044.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 48.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 9258 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprott Focus Trust during the 1st quarter worth about $87,000. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprott Focus Trust in the first quarter worth $1,867,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprott Focus Trust by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 134,938 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 6,198 shares during the period. Shaker Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sprott Focus Trust by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Shaker Financial Services LLC now owns 995,343 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,466,000 after acquiring an additional 92,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Sprott Focus Trust by 392.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 63,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 50,485 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.63% of the company's stock.

Sprott Focus Trust Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of FUND stock traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $7.82. 90,725 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 31,949. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $7.73 and a 200 day moving average of $7.72. Sprott Focus Trust has a 1 year low of $6.92 and a 1 year high of $8.11.

Sprott Focus Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.1301 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.65%. This is an increase from Sprott Focus Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th.

Sprott Focus Trust Company Profile

Sprott Focus Trust, Inc is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Sprott Asset Management, LP. The fund is co-managed by Sprott Asset Management USA Inc It invests in the public equity markets of the United States. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors.