Short Interest in John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund (NYSE:HEQ) Rises By 40.2%

John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund (NYSE:HEQ) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 18,500 shares, a growth of 40.2% from the November 30th total of 13,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 24,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.8 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund by 1.7% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 138,969 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after buying an additional 2,358 shares during the last quarter. Logan Stone Capital LLC grew its position in John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Logan Stone Capital LLC now owns 68,435 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 5,335 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 48,914 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 4,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its stake in John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund by 23.0% in the third quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 13,227 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 2,471 shares during the period.

John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund Stock Down 0.9 %

HEQ traded down $0.09 during trading on Monday, reaching $10.25. The company had a trading volume of 44,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,564. John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund has a 52 week low of $9.57 and a 52 week high of $11.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.66.

John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.76%.

About John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund

John Hancock Hedged Equity & Income Fund is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC. The fund is co-managed by Wellington Management Company LLP. It invests in the public equity markets of the United States. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors.