First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF (NASDAQ:FTXG) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF (NASDAQ:FTXG) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 71,232 shares, a growth of 144.2% from the January 15th total of 29,168 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 23,817 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 8.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 8.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 23,817 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF Stock Performance

Shares of FTXG stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.59. 99,774 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,399. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $21.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.78. The company has a market cap of $18.87 million, a P/E ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.42. First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF has a 12 month low of $20.43 and a 12 month high of $24.66.

First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a dividend of $0.195 per share. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This is an increase from First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16.

Institutional Trading of First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Journey Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF during the second quarter valued at about $2,587,000. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new stake in First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at about $916,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF during the 2nd quarter valued at about $147,000. UBS Group AG bought a new position in shares of First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,000,000. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 35,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares during the last quarter.

About First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF

The First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF (FTXG) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the Nasdaq US Smart Food & Beverage index. The fund follows a liquidity-selected, multi-factor-weighted index of US food & beverage companies. FTXG was launched on Sep 20, 2016 and is managed by First Trust.