Flushing Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FFIC) Short Interest Update

Flushing Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FFIC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 727,870 shares, a growth of 80.1% from the January 29th total of 404,061 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 356,250 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 356,250 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Flushing Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FFIC traded down $0.83 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $15.43. The stock had a trading volume of 209,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 313,685. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $15.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.99. Flushing Financial has a fifty-two week low of $10.65 and a fifty-two week high of $17.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $521.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.57 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Flushing Financial had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 5.96%. The firm had revenue of $58.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.27 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Flushing Financial will post 1.2 EPS for the current year.

Flushing Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. Flushing Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 162.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 1,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.20, for a total value of $25,434.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through 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 made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Flushing Financial by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,472 shares of the bank’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 1,453 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Flushing Financial by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 18,875 shares of the bank’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 3,062 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Flushing Financial by 104.3% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 523,080 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,643,000 after acquiring an additional 267,013 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Flushing Financial by 8.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 102,944 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,307,000 after acquiring an additional 8,036 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in Flushing Financial by 102,390.5% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 21,523 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 21,502 shares in the last quarter. 67.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FFIC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flushing Financial in a 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 note on Wednesday, December 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Flushing Financial from $14.50 to $16.80 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Flushing Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Flushing Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” 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.