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

Flushing Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FFIC) saw a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 471,152 shares, a decrease of 35.3% from the February 12th total of 727,870 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 254,425 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Based on an average trading volume of 254,425 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at Flushing Financial

In other news, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 1,570 shares of Flushing Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.20, for a total transaction of $25,434.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,469 shares in the company, valued at $574,597.80. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFIC. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Flushing Financial by 84.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,293,397 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,961,000 after buying an additional 1,506,404 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Flushing Financial by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 824,233 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,504,000 after buying an additional 55,975 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Flushing Financial by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 813,159 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,662,000 after acquiring an additional 18,829 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Partners GP LP increased its position in shares of Flushing Financial by 17.4% in the second quarter. Patriot Financial Partners GP LP now owns 675,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,019,000 after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Flushing Financial in the third quarter valued at about $9,322,000. Institutional investors own 67.10% of the company’s stock.

Flushing Financial Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:FFIC traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $14.96. 140,313 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 229,657. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.16. Flushing Financial has a one year low of $10.65 and a one year high of $17.79. The company has a market cap of $506.84 million, a P/E ratio of 27.70 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.03). Flushing Financial had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 5.95%. The firm had revenue of $58.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.27 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Flushing Financial will post 1.2 EPS for the current year.

Flushing Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Flushing Financial’s payout ratio is currently 162.96%.

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.