Sprott Focus Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ:FUND) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Sprott Focus Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ:FUND) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 24,500 shares, a growth of 58.1% from the January 31st total of 15,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 42,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days.

Insider Transactions at Sprott Focus Trust

In other news, Portfolio Manager W Whitney George purchased 106,939 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $7.27 per share, for a total transaction of $777,446.53. Following the completion of the purchase, the portfolio manager now directly owns 7,813,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,800,968.01. The trade was a 1.39 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 50.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprott Focus Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $79,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sprott Focus Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprott Focus Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $144,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sprott Focus Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $149,000. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sprott Focus Trust by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 1,951 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.63% of the company’s stock.

Sprott Focus Trust Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of FUND stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $7.45. The company had a trading volume of 19,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,435. Sprott Focus Trust has a 12 month low of $7.21 and a 12 month high of $8.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $7.54 and its 200 day moving average is $7.71.

Sprott Focus Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a — dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.2161 per share. This represents a yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th.

About Sprott Focus Trust

Sprott Focus Trust, Inc is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Sprott Asset Management, LP. The fund is co-managed by Sprott Asset Management USA Inc It invests in the public equity markets of the United States. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors.