Short Interest in Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC) Expands By 30.9%

Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 600,200 shares, an increase of 30.9% from the December 15th total of 458,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 297,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Astrid Burrowes sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.19, for a total value of $129,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $564,270.07. This represents a 18.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sam Sang Ki Han sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.47, for a total value of $154,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 67,251 shares in the company, valued at $1,040,372.97. This represents a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Flushing Financial by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,050 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Flushing Financial during the second quarter valued at about $61,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Flushing Financial by 64.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,259 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 2,836 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Flushing Financial during the third quarter valued at about $171,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Flushing Financial by 136.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 13,093 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $191,000 after buying an additional 7,559 shares during the period. 67.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Flushing Financial Stock Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ FFIC traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $14.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 198,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 539,370. Flushing Financial has a 52 week low of $10.74 and a 52 week high of $18.59. The company has a market capitalization of $496.82 million, a PE ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.97.

Flushing Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.96%. Flushing Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 101.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Flushing Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.50.

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.