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

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund Inc. (NYSE:PFO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,800 shares, a growth of 295.0% from the May 15th total of 4,000 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 29,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFO traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $9.07. 48,547 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 34,574. Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund has a fifty-two week low of $8.01 and a fifty-two week high of $9.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.04.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 26th were given a dividend of $0.0512 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This is a boost from Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund's previous dividend of $0.05. This represents a dividend yield of 6.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFO. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,790 shares of the company's stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund in the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund by 47.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 33,668 shares of the company's stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 10,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund by 29.9% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 49,630 shares of the company's stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 11,435 shares in the last quarter. 12.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.