Flushing Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FFIC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 40.7% in March to 938,628 shares (about 2.9% of the float), leaving a days-to-cover ratio of 3.7.
• The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 (annualized $0.88) for a ~5.6% yield, but the payout ratio is roughly 162.96%, suggesting potential sustainability concerns.
• Recent quarterly results missed estimates—EPS $0.32 vs. $0.35 expected and revenue $58.81M vs. $62.27M—with analysts holding a consensus Hold rating and a $16.80 price target.

Flushing Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FFIC - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 938,628 shares, an increase of 40.7% from the March 15th total of 667,060 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 254,642 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Flushing Financial Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:FFIC opened at $15.83 on Wednesday. Flushing Financial has a one year low of $11.02 and a one year high of $17.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $536.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.32 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $15.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.42.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.03). Flushing Financial had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 5.95%. The company had revenue of $58.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.27 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Flushing Financial will post 1.2 EPS for the current year.

Flushing Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Flushing Financial's dividend payout ratio is 162.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flushing Financial

In other Flushing Financial news, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 1,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.20, for a total value of $25,434.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,469 shares in the company, valued at $574,597.80. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flushing Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Martin & Co. Inc. TN boosted its stake in shares of Flushing Financial by 1.8% in the third quarter. Martin & Co. Inc. TN now owns 58,449 shares of the bank's stock worth $807,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Flushing Financial by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 21,621 shares of the bank's stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in shares of Flushing Financial by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 3,295 shares of the bank's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Flushing Financial by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,472 shares of the bank's stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Flushing Financial by 75.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,847 shares of the bank's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on FFIC shares. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Flushing Financial from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Flushing Financial from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Flushing Financial from $14.50 to $16.80 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Flushing Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.80.

Flushing Financial Company Profile

Flushing Financial Corporation is the bank holding company for Flushing Bank, a community-oriented financial institution headquartered in Flushing, Queens, New York. Tracing its origins to the founding of Flushing Bank in 1929, the holding company was established in 2006 to support the bank's growth and diversification. Flushing Financial operates under the Nasdaq ticker FFIC, delivering a full suite of banking services to personal, commercial and institutional customers.

The company's primary business activities include deposit-taking, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage banking and treasury management.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.