ELCO Management Co. LLC Takes $261,000 Position in Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC)

ELCO Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 18,263 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $261,000. ELCO Management Co. LLC owned about 0.05% of Flushing Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Flushing Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Flushing Financial by 496.0% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,725 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake 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 buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Flushing Financial by 64.1% in the third 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. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Flushing Financial during the fourth quarter worth $141,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.10% of the company’s stock.

Flushing Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FFIC stock opened at $11.10 on Wednesday. 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 market cap of $374.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.99 and a beta of 0.67. Flushing Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $10.65 and a 1 year high of $18.59. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $13.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.83.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts predict that Flushing Financial Co. will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Flushing Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.93%. Flushing Financial’s payout ratio is currently -87.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 6,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $417,781.12. This represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.