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

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

Orchid Island Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORC traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $7.81. 2,775,506 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,659,403. Orchid Island Capital has a twelve month low of $7.41 and a twelve month high of $9.08. The firm has a market cap of $623.63 million, a P/E ratio of 7.44 and a beta of 1.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $7.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.09.

Orchid Island Capital (NYSE:ORC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05). During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.28) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Orchid Island Capital will post -0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orchid Island Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 18.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Orchid Island Capital’s payout ratio is 137.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orchid Island Capital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Orchid Island Capital by 89.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 61,525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 29,073 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Orchid Island Capital in the 3rd quarter worth about $152,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Orchid Island Capital by 409.6% during 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 period. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Orchid Island Capital in the third quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Orchid Island Capital by 34.3% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 32.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.