Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Flushing Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FFIC) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $14.85 and traded as high as $16.69. Flushing Financial shares last traded at $16.68, with a volume of 513,082 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial lowered Flushing Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Flushing Financial from $14.50 to $16.80 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flushing Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Flushing Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Flushing Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Flushing Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $16.80.

Flushing Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $563.42 million, a PE ratio of 30.89 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.87.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.03). Flushing Financial had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 5.96%. The business had revenue of $58.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.27 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Flushing Financial Corporation will post 1.2 EPS for the current year.

Flushing Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Flushing Financial’s payout ratio is currently 162.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 1,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.20, for a total transaction of $25,434.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,597.80. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Flushing Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Martin & Co. Inc. TN lifted its holdings in shares of Flushing Financial by 1.8% during the third quarter. Martin & Co. Inc. TN now owns 58,449 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Flushing Financial by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 21,621 shares of the bank’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in Flushing Financial by 58.6% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 3,295 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Flushing Financial by 9.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,472 shares of the bank’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Flushing Financial by 75.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,847 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.10% of the company’s stock.

About Flushing Financial

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.