Short Interest in John Hancock Income Securities Trust (NYSE:JHS) Expands By 66.7%

John Hancock Income Securities Trust (NYSE:JHS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,500 shares, an increase of 66.7% from the December 15th total of 1,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 13,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days.

John Hancock Income Securities Trust Trading Up 0.6 %

JHS stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $11.24. 1,726 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,539. John Hancock Income Securities Trust has a one year low of $10.68 and a one year high of $11.87. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.43.

John Hancock Income Securities Trust Cuts Dividend

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 $0.2017 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JHS. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 194,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,183,000 after acquiring an additional 19,675 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 135.2% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 5,470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 3,144 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 70,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $814,000 after buying an additional 1,836 shares during the last quarter. Shaker Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter. Shaker Financial Services LLC now owns 57,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 14,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Petra Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of John Hancock Income Securities Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $129,000.

About John Hancock Income Securities Trust

John Hancock Income Securities Trust 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 United States. It invests primarily in corporate and government bonds with average maturity of 7.57 years.