Short Interest in Orchid Island Capital, Inc. (NYSE:ORC) Decreases By 37.9%

Orchid Island Capital, Inc. (NYSE:ORC) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,880,000 shares, a drop of 37.9% from the January 31st total of 6,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 4.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Orchid Island Capital Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of ORC traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $8.55. The company had a trading volume of 5,034,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,963,398. The firm has a market cap of $797.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 1.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $8.17 and a 200-day moving average of $8.05. Orchid Island Capital has a 12 month low of $7.41 and a 12 month high of $9.08.

Orchid Island Capital (NYSE:ORC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.08. On average, equities analysts expect that Orchid Island Capital will post 0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orchid Island Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 16.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Orchid Island Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 240.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Orchid Island Capital by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,165 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Orchid Island Capital by 73.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,119 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 3,012 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Orchid Island Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Orchid Island Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Mariner LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Orchid Island Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 32.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on ORC. StockNews.com raised shares of Orchid Island Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Orchid Island Capital in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Orchid Island Capital Company Profile

Orchid Island Capital, Inc, a specialty finance company, invests in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) in the United States. The company’s RMBS is backed by single-family residential mortgage loans, referred as Agency RMBS. Its portfolio includes traditional pass-through Agency RMBS, such as mortgage pass through certificates and collateralized mortgage obligations; and structured Agency RMBS comprising interest only securities, inverse interest only securities, and principal only securities.