Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund Inc. (NYSE:PFO) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund Inc. (NYSE:PFO) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 40,000 shares, an increase of 45.5% from the March 15th total of 27,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 25,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFO. Sit Investment Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund by 85.4% during the 4th quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 542,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,891,000 after acquiring an additional 250,024 shares in the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund during the fourth quarter valued at about $755,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund by 205.5% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 116,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,045,000 after buying an additional 78,044 shares during the last quarter. Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. bought a new stake in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund in the fourth quarter worth about $682,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new position in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund in the fourth quarter valued at about $407,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.90% of the company’s stock.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:PFO traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $8.71. The company had a trading volume of 9,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,865. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.14. Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund has a twelve month low of $7.99 and a twelve month high of $9.54.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.0505 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.61 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.96%.

About Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund Inc is a closed ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Flaherty & Crumrine Incorporated. The fund invests in the public equity markets of the United States. It invests in stocks of companies operating in the financial services sector.