John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund (NYSE:HEQ) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund (NYSE:HEQ) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,100 shares, an increase of 255.9% from the September 30th total of 3,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 24,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 48,914 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 4,078 shares during the last quarter. Logan Stone Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Logan Stone Capital LLC now owns 68,435 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 5,335 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 138,969 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 2,358 shares during the last quarter. Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund in the 1st quarter valued at about $449,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund in the 1st quarter valued at about $653,000.

John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund Price Performance

HEQ traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $11.00. 16,724 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 33,521. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $10.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.50. John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund has a 1-year low of $9.20 and a 1-year high of $11.12.

John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.09%.

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.