Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC) Short Interest Update

Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 635,100 shares, a decrease of 9.5% from the September 15th total of 701,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 165,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Flushing Financial Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:FFIC traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $15.64. 300,947 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 178,771. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $14.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $454.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Flushing Financial has a 12-month low of $10.74 and a 12-month high of $18.00.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The bank reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.18. Flushing Financial had a return on equity of 3.96% and a net margin of 5.84%. The firm had revenue of $117.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $46.96 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Flushing Financial will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Flushing Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Flushing Financial's payout ratio is 88.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FFIC. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Flushing Financial from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $16.50 in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Flushing Financial from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James increased their target price on Flushing Financial from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Flushing Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.50.

Insider Transactions at Flushing Financial

In related news, COO Maria A. Grasso sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.49, for a total value of $60,705.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 83,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,122,880.62. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Flushing Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FFIC. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Flushing Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Flushing Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Flushing Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $61,000. CWM LLC increased its position in Flushing Financial by 87.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,534 shares of the bank's stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 2,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perritt Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in Flushing Financial during the second quarter valued at $132,000. 67.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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