Alliancebernstein L.P. Grows Stock Holdings in Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC - Free Report) by 284.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 183,672 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 135,887 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.55% of Flushing Financial worth $2,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FFIC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Flushing Financial by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,734,753 shares of the bank's stock worth $24,772,000 after purchasing an additional 214,195 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Flushing Financial by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 694,216 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,124,000 after acquiring an additional 5,128 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Flushing Financial by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 617,687 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,821,000 after acquiring an additional 116,819 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Financial Partners GP LP bought a new position in shares of Flushing Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,783,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Flushing Financial by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 431,946 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,168,000 after purchasing an additional 57,900 shares during the last quarter. 67.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Flushing Financial

In related news, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 6,800 shares of Flushing Financial stock in a transaction on 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 owns 32,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $417,781.12. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Flushing Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FFIC traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $11.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 241,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 244,559. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.65. The company has a market cap of $388.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.40 and a beta of 0.67. Flushing Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $10.65 and a 52-week high of $18.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Flushing Financial Co. will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flushing Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.65%. Flushing Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -87.13%.

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.