John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II (NYSE:HPF) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II (NYSE:HPF) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 17,600 shares, a decrease of 60.0% from the February 13th total of 44,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 44,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HPF. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 141,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,639,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II during the third quarter worth $69,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 43,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 4,290 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,390 shares during the last quarter.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of HPF traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $16.43. 43,786 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 42,628. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.30. John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II has a fifty-two week low of $15.39 and a fifty-two week high of $19.00.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.1235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.02%.

About John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund II is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC. It is co-managed by John Hancock Asset Management. The fund invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. It seeks to invest in securities of companies operating across diversified sectors.