Flushing Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FFIC) Short Interest Up 41.6% in March

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 41.6% in March to 667,060 shares (about 2.1% of float), leaving a short-interest ratio of roughly 3.5 trading days and indicating increased bearish positioning in FFIC.
• Analysts’ consensus is a Hold rating with an average price target of $16.80 after recent mixed actions (downgrades and price-target changes) from firms including Raymond James, Keefe Bruyette & Woods, Weiss and Zacks.
• Flushing Financial declared a $0.22 quarterly dividend (5.9% yield), but the payout ratio is an elevated 162.96%, and the company recently missed quarterly EPS ($0.32 vs. $0.35) and revenue expectations, raising questions about dividend sustainability.

Flushing Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FFIC - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 667,060 shares, a growth of 41.6% from the February 26th total of 471,152 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 192,136 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 1,570 shares of Flushing Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.20, for a total transaction of $25,434.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,469 shares in the company, valued at $574,597.80. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 5.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flushing Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFIC. Martin & Co. Inc. TN boosted its stake in Flushing Financial by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Martin & Co. Inc. TN now owns 58,449 shares of the bank's stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Flushing Financial by 5.1% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 21,621 shares of the bank's stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of Flushing Financial by 58.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Flushing Financial by 9.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,472 shares of the bank's stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Flushing Financial by 75.1% in the second 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 period. Institutional investors own 67.10% of the company's stock.

Flushing Financial Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:FFIC traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $14.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 196,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 230,685. 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's fifty day moving average price is $15.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.25. Flushing Financial has a 52 week low of $10.65 and a 52 week high of $17.79. The company has a market capitalization of $504.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.56 and a beta of 0.82.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $58.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.27 million. Flushing Financial had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 5.95%. As a group, research analysts expect that Flushing Financial will post 1.2 EPS for the current year.

Flushing Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Flushing Financial's payout ratio is presently 162.96%.

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.

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