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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Thursday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on FFIC. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Flushing Financial from $17.00 to $13.50 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Flushing Financial from $15.50 to $14.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Flushing Financial from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Flushing Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FFIC opened at $11.38 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $12.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.82. Flushing Financial has a 52 week low of $9.28 and a 52 week high of $18.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $330.82 million, a P/E ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Flushing Financial had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 4.31%. The firm had revenue of $112.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Flushing Financial will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Flushing Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. Flushing Financial’s payout ratio is 88.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 19,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.21, for a total value of $250,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,885.11. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Flushing Financial news, EVP Francis W. Korzekwinski sold 7,649 shares of Flushing Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.61, for a total transaction of $96,453.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 73,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $926,746.73. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 19,000 shares of Flushing Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.21, for a total transaction of $250,990.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,885.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flushing Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FFIC. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Flushing Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Flushing Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $149,000. EMC Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Flushing Financial by 116.7% during the 3rd quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 11,493 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 6,189 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Flushing Financial by 72.4% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,944 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 6,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Flushing Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $287,000. 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.