First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (NASDAQ:QQEW) Short Interest Up 30.7% in August

First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (NASDAQ:QQEW) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 71,100 shares, an increase of 30.7% from the August 15th total of 54,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 76,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ QQEW traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $123.10. 52,149 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 101,666. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $121.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.80. First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund has a 1-year low of $97.55 and a 1-year high of $127.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.27 and a beta of 1.05.

First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 27th were issued a dividend of $0.2243 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of QQEW. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 32,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,975,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 44.9% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 103,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,749,000 after buying an additional 32,038 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 10.0% in the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 19,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,457,000 after buying an additional 1,815 shares during the period. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 430.7% during the second quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,391,000 after buying an additional 9,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 2.4% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 13,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,624,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the period.

About First Trust NASDAQ 100 Equal Weighted Index Fund

The First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (QQEW) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the NASDAQ-100 Equally Weighted index. The fund tracks an equal-weighted version of the NASDAQ 100. QQEW was launched on Apr 19, 2006 and is managed by First Trust.