The First of Long Island Co. (NASDAQ:FLIC) Short Interest Up 25.4% in March

The First of Long Island Co. (NASDAQ:FLIC) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 169,600 shares, a growth of 25.4% from the March 15th total of 135,200 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 87,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of First of Long Island from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $16.04 to $16.56 in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of First of Long Island in a research report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

First of Long Island Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ FLIC opened at $10.87 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.04 million, a PE ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.10 and its 200-day moving average is $12.71. First of Long Island has a 1 year low of $9.30 and a 1 year high of $15.03.

First of Long Island (NASDAQ:FLIC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.10). First of Long Island had a return on equity of 4.74% and a net margin of 9.52%.

First of Long Island Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 24th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.73%. First of Long Island’s dividend payout ratio is 112.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in First of Long Island by 73.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 57,758 shares of the bank’s stock worth $743,000 after buying an additional 24,399 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of First of Long Island by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 505,758 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,509,000 after purchasing an additional 16,456 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in First of Long Island by 124.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,522 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in First of Long Island in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $169,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of First of Long Island during the fourth quarter worth $165,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 48.33% of the company’s stock.

About First of Long Island

The First of Long Island Corporation operates as the holding company for The First National Bank of Long Island that provides financial services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, consumers, municipalities, and other organizations. The company offers business and small business checking, personal checking, negotiable order of withdrawal, interest on lawyer, escrow service, rent security, personal and nonpersonal money market, savings, time deposit, and individual retirement accounts.