John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II (NYSE:HPF) Short Interest Update

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II (NYSE:HPF) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,100 shares, a decline of 39.7% from the August 15th total of 6,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 37,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of HPF stock traded up $0.09 on Friday, reaching $17.37. 36,478 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,989. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $16.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.78. John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II has a 1 year low of $12.99 and a 1 year high of $17.78.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.1235 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This is a boost from John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II’s previous monthly dividend of $0.12.

Institutional Trading of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HPF. Axim Planning & Wealth grew its stake in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II by 120.3% during the 2nd quarter. Axim Planning & Wealth now owns 368,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,250,000 after acquiring an additional 201,080 shares in the last quarter. One Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,125,000. Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II during the 2nd quarter valued at about $285,000. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II during the 1st quarter valued at about $180,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 67,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 5,768 shares in the last quarter.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II Company Profile

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.