Orchid Island Capital (NYSE:ORC) upgrade at Zacks Investment Research

Orchid Island Capital (NYSE:ORC – Get Grade) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Friday, 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.”

Other research analysts have also recently published research reports on the company. JMP Securities began covering Orchid Island Capital in a research note on Wednesday, January 12. They set a “market performance” rating for the company. Jonestrading upgraded Orchid Island Capital from a “buy” to a “hold” rating in a Friday, February 25 report.

ORC stock opened at $3.26 on Friday. 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 $577.00 million, a price/earnings ratio of -5.62 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a fifty-day moving average price of $3.67 and a two-hundred-day moving average price of $4.41.

Major investors have recently increased or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its equity stake in Orchid Island Capital by 19.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management LLC increased its position in Orchid Island Capital shares by 1,130.5% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management LLC now owns 1,719,052 shares of the real estate investment trust worth $8,406,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579,349 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Orchid Island Capital by 20.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,600,192 shares of the real estate investment trust worth $27,385,000 after purchasing an additional 950,478 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Orchid Island Capital by 424.8% during the second quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 923,573 shares of the real estate investment trust worth $4,794,000 after buying an additional 747,586 shares last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Orchid Island Capital by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,613,636 shares of the real estate investment trust worth $11,761,000 after purchasing an additional 684,672 shares last quarter. 25.24% of the shares are currently held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Orchid Island Capital Company Profile (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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