John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund (NYSE:HEQ) Short Interest Down 56.0% in February

John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund (NYSE:HEQ) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 7,400 shares, a drop of 56.0% from the February 13th total of 16,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 34,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.2 days.

John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of HEQ opened at $10.51 on Thursday. John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund has a 1-year low of $9.57 and a 1-year high of $11.12. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.69.

John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HEQ. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 254,824 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,602,000 after purchasing an additional 16,414 shares in the last quarter. Shaker Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund by 39.8% in the fourth quarter. Shaker Financial Services LLC now owns 249,606 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,548,000 after purchasing an additional 70,999 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 153,912 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 18,787 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 149,241 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,524,000 after purchasing an additional 18,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,821 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 18,392 shares in the last quarter.

About John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund

John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC. The fund is co-managed by Wellington Management Company LLP. It invests in the public equity markets of the United States. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors.