Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC - Free Report) by 943.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 122,480 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 110,745 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.36% of Flushing Financial worth $1,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFIC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Flushing Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,755,762 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,072,000 after purchasing an additional 36,845 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Flushing Financial by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,734,753 shares of the bank's stock valued at $24,772,000 after buying an additional 214,195 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Flushing Financial by 153.4% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 825,708 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,791,000 after buying an additional 499,821 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Flushing Financial by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 617,687 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,821,000 after buying an additional 116,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Partners GP LP acquired a new position in shares of Flushing Financial in the fourth quarter worth $6,783,000. 67.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Flushing Financial

In other Flushing Financial news, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 6,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.92, for a total value of $87,856.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $417,781.12. This trade represents a 17.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.31% of the company's stock.

Flushing Financial Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of FFIC traded down $0.24 on Wednesday, hitting $12.47. 34,892 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 249,092. Flushing Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $10.65 and a 1 year high of $18.59. The stock's 50 day moving average is $12.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $421.20 million, a P/E ratio of -12.35 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

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

Flushing Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Flushing Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently -61.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Flushing Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th.

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.