Flushing Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FFIC) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Flushing Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FFIC) was the target of a large drop in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 471,152 shares, a drop of 35.3% from the February 12th total of 727,870 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 254,425 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Based on an average daily volume of 254,425 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Flushing Financial Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ FFIC traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $14.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 140,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 229,657. Flushing Financial has a one year low of $10.65 and a one year high of $17.79. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $506.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.70 and a beta of 0.82.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $58.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.27 million. Flushing Financial had a return on equity of 5.95% and a net margin of 3.86%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Flushing Financial will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flushing Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Flushing Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 162.96%.

Insider Transactions at Flushing Financial

In other Flushing Financial news, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 1,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.20, for a total transaction of $25,434.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,597.80. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 5.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FFIC. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Flushing Financial by 75.1% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,847 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of Flushing Financial by 58.6% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 3,295 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Flushing Financial by 306.0% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,950 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 2,977 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Flushing Financial during the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its holdings in Flushing Financial by 37.0% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 8,119 shares of the bank’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FFIC. Zacks Research lowered shares of Flushing Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Flushing Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Flushing Financial from $14.50 to $16.80 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Flushing Financial from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Flushing Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.80.

Flushing Financial Company Profile

Flushing Financial Corporation is the bank holding company for Flushing Bank, a community-oriented financial institution headquartered in Flushing, Queens, New York. Tracing its origins to the founding of Flushing Bank in 1929, the holding company was established in 2006 to support the bank’s growth and diversification. Flushing Financial operates under the Nasdaq ticker FFIC, delivering a full suite of banking services to personal, commercial and institutional customers.

The company’s primary business activities include deposit-taking, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage banking and treasury management.