For those interested in finding out the painful areas of investing, iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF (SHV Quick QuoteSHV - Free Report) is probably on radar now. The fund just touched a 52-week low and SHV is down nearly 0.2% from its 52-week high price of $110.46/share.

But is more pain in store for this ETF? Let’s take a quick look at the fund and the near-term outlook on it to get a better idea on where it might be headed:

SHV in Focus    

The fund gives exposure to U.S. Treasury bonds that mature in less than one year. The fund holds 25 stocks in its basket. It has a weighted average maturity of 0.44 years and an effective duration of 0.43 years. The fund charges 15 bps in fees (see all government bond ETFs here).

Why the Move?

Short-term U.S. government bonds have been watched closely of late thanks to the increasing odds of a rate hike in the Fed’s March meeting. This has pushed up the bond yields and lowered bond prices.

More Pain Ahead?

Currently, SHV has a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold) with a Medium risk outlook. So, it is tough to get a handle on the fund’s future momentum. However, the fund has a negative weighted alpha of 0.10. Since negative alpha hints at more pain, one can expect some more losses in the fund.

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