High Income Securities Fund (NYSE:PCF) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

High Income Securities Fund (NYSE:PCF) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 42,500 shares, a decline of 35.5% from the January 31st total of 65,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 135,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days.

High Income Securities Fund Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:PCF opened at $6.82 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $6.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.70. High Income Securities Fund has a 12-month low of $6.19 and a 12-month high of $7.00.

High Income Securities Fund Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 22nd were given a dividend of $0.0593 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 10.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Phillip Goldstein sold 19,296 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.84, for a total value of $131,984.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,131 shares in the company, valued at $48,776.04. This represents a 73.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gerald Hellerman bought 10,000 shares of High Income Securities Fund stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $6.66 per share, with a total value of $66,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 14,325 shares in the company, valued at $95,404.50. This represents a 231.21 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 13,624 shares of company stock valued at $89,836 and sold 19,669 shares valued at $134,425. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PCF. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of High Income Securities Fund by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 43,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 1,804 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of High Income Securities Fund by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 75,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 10,370 shares during the period. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of High Income Securities Fund during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new stake in High Income Securities Fund during the 4th quarter valued at $80,000. Finally, L.M. Kohn & Company bought a new stake in High Income Securities Fund in the third quarter worth $94,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

High Income Securities Fund Company Profile

High Income Securities Fund is a closed-ended balanced income mutual fund launched and managed by Putnam Investment Management, LLC. The fund is co-managed by Putnam Investments Limited. It invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors.