Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Flushing Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FFIC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $17.31 and last traded at $17.2950, with a volume of 111153 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Flushing Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Flushing Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flushing Financial in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Flushing Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Flushing Financial Stock Up 0.9%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.40. The company has a market cap of $578.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.40 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 15th. The bank reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $54.81 million during the quarter. Flushing Financial had a positive return on equity of 4.98% and a negative net margin of 6.93%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Flushing Financial Corporation will post 1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flushing Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Flushing Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -73.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flushing Financial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Flushing Financial by 75.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,847 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650 shares during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised 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 purchasing an additional 2,194 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Flushing Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $127,000. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new position in Flushing Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $147,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in Flushing Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $152,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.10% of the company’s stock.

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, non-interest bearing demand accounts, NOW accounts, and certificates of deposit.