iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF (NASDAQ:ISTB) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF (NASDAQ:ISTB) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,010,000 shares, an increase of 213.2% from the December 31st total of 322,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 367,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:ISTB traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $48.04. 220,136 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 417,760. iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF has a 52-week low of $46.65 and a 52-week high of $48.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $47.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.06. The company has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.72 and a beta of 0.07.

iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.1587 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%.

Institutional Trading of iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Spinnaker Trust lifted its position in iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 1,504,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,883,000 after acquiring an additional 210,364 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF in the fourth quarter valued at $7,913,000. Boyd Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF in the third quarter valued at $7,841,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF in the third quarter valued at $7,611,000. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF in the fourth quarter valued at $5,493,000.

iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF Company Profile

The iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF (ISTB) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in broad credit fixed income. The fund tracks a broad USD-denominated bond index with 1-5 years remaining in maturities. ISTB was launched on Oct 18, 2012 and is managed by BlackRock.