Orchid Island Capital (NYSE:ORC) reduced to “sell” at Zacks Investment Research

Orchid Island Capital (NYSE:ORC – Get a Rating) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note released Thursday, Zacks.com reports.

According to Zacks, “Orchid Island Capital, Inc. is a specialty finance company that invests in residential mortgage-backed securities whose payment of principal and interest is guaranteed by a U.S. government agency or U.S. government-sponsored entity. The company intends to qualify and elect to be taxed as a REIT beginning with its tax year ending December 31, 2013. Orchid Island Capital, Inc. is based in the United States.”

A number of other stock analysts also weighed in on the company. Jonestrading downgraded Orchid Island Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a Friday, February 25 research rating. JMP Securities initiated coverage on Orchid Island Capital in a Wednesday, January 12 research note. They set a “market performance” rating on the stock.

ORC shares opened at $3.21 on Thursday. Orchid Island Capital has a one-year low of $3.09 and a one-year high of $6.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $568.15 million, a price-earnings ratio of -5.53 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $4.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.60.

Several institutional investors have recently changed their positions in ORC. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its equity stake in Orchid Island Capital by 12.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,599,717 shares of the real estate investment trust valued at $8,302,000 after purchasing an additional 176,977 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its equity stake in Orchid Island Capital by 424.8% in the second quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 923,573 shares of the real estate investment trust worth $4,794,000 after purchasing an additional 747,586 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its equity stake in Orchid Island Capital by 25.1% in Q3. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,279 shares of the real estate investment trust worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank increased its equity stake in Orchid Island Capital by 21.0% in Q3. The merged bank now owns 16,116 shares of the real estate investment trust valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 2,796 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its equity stake in Orchid Island Capital by 19.3% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,985,315 shares of the real estate investment trust valued at $53,719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779,939 shares during the period. 25.24% of the shares are currently held by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Orchid Island Capital (Get a rating)

Orchid Island Capital, Inc. operates as a specialty finance company, which invests in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). Its portfolio consists of traditional pass-through agency RMBS and structured agency RMBS. Traditional Transfer Agency RMBS include Mortgage Transfer Certificates and Secured Mortgage Bonds.

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