Ameriprise Financial Inc. Acquires 35,572 Shares of Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC - Free Report) by 34.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 137,470 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 35,572 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.41% of Flushing Financial worth $1,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Flushing Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Flushing Financial by 496.0% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,725 shares of the bank's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Flushing Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Flushing Financial by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 6,434 shares of the bank's stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Flushing Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $141,000. 67.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Flushing Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th.

Insider Activity

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 value 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 $417,781.12. The trade was a 17.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 5.66% of the company's stock.

Flushing Financial Stock Performance

FFIC traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.97. 209,765 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 247,059. The company's 50-day moving average is $12.11 and its 200 day moving average is $13.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $404.31 million, a PE ratio of -11.85 and a beta of 0.82. Flushing Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $10.65 and a 52 week high of $18.59.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.01. Flushing Financial had a negative net margin of 6.46% and a positive return on equity of 3.25%. The firm had revenue of $58.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.38 million. On average, research analysts expect that Flushing Financial Co. will post 1.2 EPS for the current year.

Flushing Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.35%. Flushing Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently -61.97%.

Flushing Financial 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.