Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund Inc. (NYSE:PFO) Sees Short Interest Plummet 57%

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund Inc. (NYSE:PFO - Get Free Report) experienced a substantial drop in short interest during January. As of January 15th, the short interest stood at 12,200 shares, reflecting a significant decrease of 57.0% from the 28,400 shares reported on December 31st. Considering the average daily trading volume of 36,200 shares, the current days-to-cover ratio is 0.3 days.

Institutional Investors and Hedge Funds Interest

Recently, several institutional investors and hedge funds have made moves regarding their investments in PFO. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. entered a new position in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund in the second quarter, valued at roughly $47,000. In the third quarter, Jag Capital Management LLC also bought into the fund with an investment around $120,000. Additionally, Napa Wealth Management increased its holdings in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund by 21.6% during the third quarter, bringing its total ownership to 97,047 shares, valued at $913,000 after acquiring an extra 17,255 shares. Currently, institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.90% of the stock.

Performance of Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund

On Thursday, PFO's stock rose by $0.11, reaching a trading price of $9.17. A total of 12,294 shares were traded, averaging below its typical volume of 26,720 shares. Over the past year, the stock hit a low of $7.89 and a high of $9.54. The fifty-day moving average for the stock price is $9.10, while the 200-day moving average stands at $9.07.

Dividend Announcement

The fund has also declared a monthly dividend, scheduled for payment on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders recorded on Wednesday, April 23rd, will receive a dividend of $0.0505 per share. The ex-dividend date is set for the same day, April 23rd. This dividend amounts to an annualized total of $0.61, yielding approximately 6.61%.

About Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund Inc is a closed-end equity mutual fund that is managed by Flaherty & Crumrine Incorporated. This fund invests in the public equity markets primarily within the United States, focusing on stocks from companies in the financial services sector.

Flaherty, Investment, Dividend