Short Interest in Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC) Decreases By 26.5%

Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 393,000 shares, a drop of 26.5% from the February 28th total of 534,900 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 354,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Flushing Financial Price Performance

FFIC opened at $12.74 on Friday. Flushing Financial has a 1 year low of $10.74 and a 1 year high of $18.59. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $430.32 million, a PE ratio of -12.61 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Flushing Financial will post 1.2 EPS for the current year.

Flushing Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.91%. Flushing Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently -87.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Flushing Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 6,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.92, for a total transaction of $87,856.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $417,781.12. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flushing Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of FFIC. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Flushing Financial by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 694,216 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,124,000 after buying an additional 5,128 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Flushing Financial by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 233,236 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,401,000 after acquiring an additional 4,876 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Flushing Financial by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 16,758 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 2,219 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Flushing Financial by 56.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 51,833 shares of the bank’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 18,773 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Flushing Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $450,000. 67.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Flushing Financial

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.