Short Interest in Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC) Grows By 30.9%

Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 600,200 shares, a growth of 30.9% from the December 15th total of 458,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 297,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Flushing Financial Price Performance

Shares of Flushing Financial stock traded down $0.19 on Friday, hitting $14.76. The company had a trading volume of 198,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 539,370. Flushing Financial has a 52 week low of $10.74 and a 52 week high of $18.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $496.82 million, a PE ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.97.

Flushing Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Flushing Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Flushing Financial news, CAO Astrid Burrowes sold 8,000 shares of Flushing Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.19, for a total value of $129,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,853 shares in the company, valued at $564,270.07. The trade was a 18.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sam Sang Ki Han sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.47, for a total value of $154,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 67,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,040,372.97. This trade represents a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Flushing Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FFIC. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Flushing Financial by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 694,216 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,124,000 after acquiring an additional 5,128 shares during the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Flushing Financial by 11.5% during the second quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 453,198 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,960,000 after purchasing an additional 46,800 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Flushing Financial by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 452,209 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,947,000 after purchasing an additional 62,659 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Flushing Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,936,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Flushing Financial by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 334,900 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,404,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Flushing Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.50.

About Flushing Financial

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.