Short Interest in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund Inc. (NYSE:PFO) Grows By 25.6%

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund Inc. (NYSE:PFO) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 29,400 shares, an increase of 25.6% from the August 31st total of 23,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 41,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund by 0.6% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 209,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,772,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219 shares in the last quarter. Matisse Capital boosted its holdings in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund by 26.3% in the second quarter. Matisse Capital now owns 177,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,504,000 after purchasing an additional 37,012 shares in the last quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp boosted its holdings in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund by 5.9% in the first quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 107,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $904,000 after purchasing an additional 5,997 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund during the first quarter worth $187,000. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund during the second quarter valued at about $151,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.90% of the company’s stock.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:PFO traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $9.40. 36,645 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 34,849. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.54. Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund has a 1-year low of $6.90 and a 1-year high of $9.54.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 24th will be given a dividend of $0.0492 per share. This is a boost from Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund’s previous monthly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $0.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.28%.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund Company Profile

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.