Orchid Island Capital, Inc. (NYSE:ORC) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Orchid Island Capital, Inc. (NYSE:ORC) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,190,000 shares, a drop of 16.3% from the December 31st total of 8,590,000 shares. Approximately 9.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Orchid Island Capital Stock Performance

ORC traded up $0.33 on Friday, reaching $8.36. The company had a trading volume of 8,965,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,249,430. The stock has a market cap of $667.15 million, a P/E ratio of 7.96 and a beta of 1.82. Orchid Island Capital has a fifty-two week low of $7.41 and a fifty-two week high of $9.08. The company’s fifty day moving average is $7.90 and its 200 day moving average is $8.00.

Orchid Island Capital (NYSE:ORC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.08. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Orchid Island Capital will post -0.25 EPS for the current year.

Orchid Island Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 17.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Orchid Island Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 137.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Orchid Island Capital in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Orchid Island Capital by 13.0% during 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 buying an additional 123,239 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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 during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Orchid Island Capital by 409.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 94,005 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $773,000 after acquiring an additional 75,557 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Orchid Island Capital by 39.6% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 695,131 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,422,000 after acquiring an additional 197,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Orchid Island Capital by 34.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,650,122 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,566,000 after buying an additional 421,718 shares during the period. 32.74% of the stock is 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.