Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

Flushing Financial Stock Up 0.4 %

Flushing Financial stock opened at $13.23 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $446.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.10 and a beta of 0.79. Flushing Financial has a 12 month low of $10.74 and a 12 month high of $18.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.01.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.07). Flushing Financial had a negative net margin of 6.46% and a positive return on equity of 3.25%. Equities analysts predict that Flushing Financial will post 1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flushing Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.65%. Flushing Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -87.13%.

Insider Transactions at Flushing Financial

In related news, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 6,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.92, for a total value of $87,856.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $417,781.12. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Flushing Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FFIC. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Flushing Financial during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Flushing Financial by 496.0% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,725 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 3,100 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Flushing Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Flushing Financial by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 6,434 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Flushing Financial by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,259 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 2,836 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.