Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

Flushing Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

Flushing Financial stock opened at $13.09 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $14.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.97. Flushing Financial has a fifty-two week low of $10.74 and a fifty-two week high of $18.59. The company has a market capitalization of $442.14 million, a PE ratio of -12.96 and a beta of 0.79.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Research analysts expect that Flushing Financial will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Flushing Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Flushing Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently -87.13%.

Insider Transactions at Flushing Financial

In other Flushing Financial news, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 6,800 shares of Flushing Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.92, for a total transaction of $87,856.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,781.12. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 6.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flushing Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Flushing Financial by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 233,236 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,401,000 after buying an additional 4,876 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Flushing Financial by 64.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,259 shares of the bank’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,836 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Flushing Financial by 18.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,661 shares of the bank’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC purchased a new stake in Flushing Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $510,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Flushing Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,936,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.