Short Interest in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund (NYSE:HPI) Decreases By 9.4%

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund (NYSE:HPI) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 81,300 shares, a drop of 9.4% from the January 15th total of 89,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 48,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 260,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,328,000 after acquiring an additional 16,029 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 193,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,212,000 after acquiring an additional 18,482 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 170,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,834,000 after purchasing an additional 15,257 shares during the period. TSP Capital Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. TSP Capital Management Group LLC now owns 130,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,165,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,786,000.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund Trading Down 0.1 %

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund stock opened at $17.54 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.56. John Hancock Preferred Income Fund has a 12-month low of $15.26 and a 12-month high of $19.43.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be paid a $0.1235 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund Company Profile

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund is a closed ended balanced 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 public equity and fixed income markets of the United States. It seeks to invest in securities of companies operating across diversified sectors.