Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund Inc. (NYSE:HIO) Short Interest Update

Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund Inc. (NYSE:HIO) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 143,762 shares, an increase of 64.5% from the July 30th total of 87,388 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 337,865 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HIO. Sit Investment Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 2,235,264 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $8,293,000 after purchasing an additional 556,840 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,220,952 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $4,530,000 after buying an additional 201,345 shares during the period. FCA Corp TX grew its position in Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund by 5.8% during the first quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 1,206,739 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $4,380,000 after buying an additional 66,178 shares in the last quarter. Rareview Capital LLC grew its position in Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund by 30.7% during the second quarter. Rareview Capital LLC now owns 903,653 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $3,597,000 after buying an additional 212,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 776,289 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,880,000 after acquiring an additional 92,096 shares during the last quarter.

Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund Stock Up 0.3%

HIO stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $3.49. 398,719 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 365,746. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $3.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.64. Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund has a 52-week low of $3.46 and a 52-week high of $4.05.

Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund (NYSE:HIO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The closed-end fund reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter.

Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 30th. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.0355 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th.

Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund Company Profile

Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund Inc (NYSE: HIO) is a diversified closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide high current income and capital appreciation by investing primarily in high-yield and other fixed-income securities. The Fund’s portfolio is actively managed by Western Asset Management Company, an affiliate of Franklin Templeton, and may include below-investment-grade corporate debt, emerging-market sovereign and corporate bonds, bank loans, mortgage- and asset-backed securities.