Flushing Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FFIC) Short Interest Update

Flushing Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FFIC) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 667,060 shares, an increase of 41.6% from the February 26th total of 471,152 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 192,136 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Flushing Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FFIC traded up $0.19 during trading on Monday, reaching $15.07. The company had a trading volume of 136,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 319,840. The company has a fifty day moving average of $15.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $510.63 million, a P/E ratio of 27.91 and a beta of 0.82. Flushing Financial has a 12 month low of $10.65 and a 12 month high of $17.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 5.95% and a net margin of 3.86%.The company had revenue of $58.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.27 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Flushing Financial will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Flushing Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. Flushing Financial’s payout ratio is 162.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on FFIC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Flushing Financial from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Flushing Financial from $14.50 to $16.80 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial lowered Flushing Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Finally, Zacks Research cut Flushing Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Flushing Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flushing Financial 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,469 shares in the company, valued at $574,597.80. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.66% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flushing Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 1,650 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of Flushing Financial by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 3,295 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Flushing Financial by 306.0% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,950 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 2,977 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Flushing Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its stake in shares of Flushing Financial by 37.0% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 8,119 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194 shares in the last quarter. 67.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.