Short Interest in Orchid Island Capital, Inc. (NYSE:ORC) Declines By 16.2%

Orchid Island Capital, Inc. (NYSE:ORC) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,930,000 shares, a drop of 16.2% from the November 30th total of 7,080,000 shares. Approximately 7.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,920,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Orchid Island Capital Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE ORC traded up $0.03 on Friday, reaching $7.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,896,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,655,592. Orchid Island Capital has a 1 year low of $7.41 and a 1 year high of $9.08. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $7.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.09. The company has a market capitalization of $629.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 1.84.

Orchid Island Capital (NYSE:ORC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.05). During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.28) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Orchid Island Capital will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orchid Island Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 18.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Orchid Island Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 137.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Orchid Island Capital

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Orchid Island Capital by 34.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,650,122 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,566,000 after purchasing an additional 421,718 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Orchid Island Capital by 13.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,073,495 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,952,000 after acquiring an additional 123,239 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Orchid Island Capital by 39.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 695,131 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,422,000 after acquiring an additional 197,052 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Orchid Island Capital by 274.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 586,220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,819,000 after purchasing an additional 429,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Orchid Island Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,903,000. 32.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Orchid Island Capital

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.