Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Flushing Financial Trading Down 2.7 %

Flushing Financial stock opened at $13.04 on Tuesday. Flushing Financial has a 1 year low of $10.74 and a 1 year high of $18.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $14.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.99. 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 stock has a market cap of $440.45 million, a P/E ratio of -12.91 and a beta of 0.79.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) last announced its quarterly 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Flushing Financial will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flushing Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Flushing Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently -87.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 6,800 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $417,781.12. This represents a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flushing Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FFIC. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Flushing Financial by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,813 shares of the bank’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Flushing Financial by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 6,434 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Flushing Financial by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 234,974 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,355,000 after buying an additional 1,738 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Flushing Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in Flushing Financial by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 16,758 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 2,219 shares during the period. 67.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.