John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III (NYSE:HPS) Short Interest Down 5.7% in March

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III (NYSE:HPS) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 160,200 shares, a decline of 5.7% from the March 15th total of 169,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 57,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III Stock Performance

NYSE:HPS opened at $14.85 on Thursday. John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III has a 12-month low of $11.79 and a 12-month high of $15.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.02.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 10th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 51,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the period. Golden Green Inc. boosted its position in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Golden Green Inc. now owns 43,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 18,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III by 255.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,949 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 14,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 2,180 shares during the period.

About John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III 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.