Flushing Financial (FFIC) Competitors

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) and Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, media sentiment and institutional ownership.

Which has more volatility & risk, FFIC or IBCP?

Flushing Financial has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Independent Bank has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is FFIC or IBCP a better dividend stock?

Flushing Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.4%. Independent Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Flushing Financial pays out -73.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Independent Bank pays out 33.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Independent Bank has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years. Flushing Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, FFIC or IBCP?

Independent Bank has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Flushing Financial. Flushing Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Independent Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Flushing Financial	$484.72M	0.97	-$31.33M	-$1.19	-11.64
Independent Bank	$323.14M	2.00	$66.79M	$3.07	10.18

Does the media refer more to FFIC or IBCP?

In the previous week, Flushing Financial had 1 more articles in the media than Independent Bank. MarketBeat recorded 1 mentions for Flushing Financial and 0 mentions for Independent Bank. Independent Bank's average media sentiment score of 0.99 beat Flushing Financial's score of 0.00 indicating that Independent Bank is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Flushing Financial	Neutral
Independent Bank	Positive

Is FFIC or IBCP more profitable?

Independent Bank has a net margin of 20.31% compared to Flushing Financial's net margin of -7.13%. Independent Bank's return on equity of 14.05% beat Flushing Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Flushing Financial	-7.13%	4.45%	0.35%
Independent Bank	20.31%	14.05%	1.21%

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of FFIC or IBCP?

67.1% of Flushing Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.4% of Independent Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.7% of Flushing Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.7% of Independent Bank shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts recommend FFIC or IBCP?

Independent Bank has a consensus target price of $36.00, suggesting a potential upside of 15.20%. Given Independent Bank's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Independent Bank is more favorable than Flushing Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Flushing Financial	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.50
Independent Bank	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25

Summary

Independent Bank beats Flushing Financial on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.