Gabelli Funds LLC Purchases 63,000 Shares of Flushing Financial Corporation $FFIC

Gabelli Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Flushing Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FFIC) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 471,541 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,000 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Flushing Financial were worth $7,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake 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 worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Flushing Financial by 306.0% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,950 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 2,977 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new stake in shares of Flushing Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $147,000. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Flushing Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $152,000. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Flushing Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $177,000. 67.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Flushing Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FFIC opened at $15.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Flushing Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $11.13 and a 1-year high of $17.79. The company has a market capitalization of $541.13 million, a P/E ratio of 15.97 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.84.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.03). Flushing Financial had a net margin of 7.15% and a return on equity of 6.25%. The firm had revenue of $56.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.15 million.

Flushing Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. Flushing Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.00%.

Insider Transactions at Flushing Financial

In related news, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 10,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.96, for a total transaction of $172,016.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $394,068.36. This represents a 30.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 5.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FFIC. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Flushing Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Flushing Financial from $14.50 to $16.80 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.80.

Flushing Financial 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.