Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 355,800 shares, a decline of 12.6% from the December 15th total of 407,100 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 94,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Flushing Financial in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Flushing Financial from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th.
Insider Activity
In related news, COO Maria A. Grasso sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.20, for a total transaction of $56,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 79,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,132,109.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Steven J. Diorio sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.42, for a total transaction of $106,730.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 47,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $771,740. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Maria A. Grasso sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.20, for a total transaction of $56,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 79,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,132,109.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.54% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FFIC. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Flushing Financial by 21.3% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 48,836 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,091,000 after purchasing an additional 8,578 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Flushing Financial by 57.0% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 16,344 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 5,934 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Flushing Financial by 3.9% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,480,912 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $55,449,000 after buying an additional 92,800 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its holdings in Flushing Financial by 29.7% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 2,740 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Flushing Financial by 2.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,330,027 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,077,000 after buying an additional 56,474 shares during the last quarter. 62.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Flushing Financial Stock Down 1.9 %
Flushing Financial stock traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $15.42. The stock had a trading volume of 64,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 83,262. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $15.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.17. Flushing Financial has a 12-month low of $9.28 and a 12-month high of $20.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $445.48 million, a P/E ratio of 13.77 and a beta of 0.78.
Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 31st. The bank reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.06. Flushing Financial had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 5.56%. The firm had revenue of $47.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $46.56 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Flushing Financial will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Flushing Financial Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 8th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 7th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.71%. Flushing Financial’s payout ratio is 78.57%.
Flushing Financial Company Profile
Flushing Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Flushing Bank that provides banking products and services primarily to consumers, businesses, and governmental units. It offers various deposit products, including checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, demand accounts, NOW accounts, and certificates of deposit.