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

Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 393,000 shares, a decrease of 26.5% from the February 28th total of 534,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 354,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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 at Flushing Financial

In other Flushing Financial news, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 6,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.92, for a total value of $87,856.00. Following 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flushing Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Flushing Financial by 2.1% during 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 last quarter. FMR LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 2,836 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Flushing Financial by 18.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,661 shares of the bank's stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Flushing Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $4,936,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Flushing Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $171,000. 67.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Flushing Financial Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:FFIC traded up $0.13 on Wednesday, reaching $12.78. The stock had a trading volume of 187,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,836. The company has a market cap of $431.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.65 and a beta of 0.79. Flushing Financial has a 12-month low of $10.74 and a 12-month 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. The firm's fifty day moving average is $13.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.97.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC - Get Free Report) last announced 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 positive return on equity of 3.25% and a negative net margin of 6.46%. Equities analysts expect that Flushing Financial will post 1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flushing Financial Dividend Announcement

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 of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.89%. Flushing Financial's payout ratio 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.