StockNews.com Downgrades Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) to Sell

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Flushing Financial from $17.00 to $13.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Raymond James increased their target price on Flushing Financial from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Flushing Financial from $15.50 to $14.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Flushing Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.50.

Flushing Financial Stock Down 2.6 %

FFIC traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $11.38. 226,175 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 194,185. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.82. Flushing Financial has a one year low of $9.28 and a one year high of $18.00. The company has a market cap of $330.82 million, a PE ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $112.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.12 million. Flushing Financial had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 4.31%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Flushing Financial will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Francis W. Korzekwinski sold 7,649 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.61, for a total value of $96,453.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 73,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $926,746.73. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Flushing Financial news, EVP Francis W. Korzekwinski sold 7,649 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.61, for a total value of $96,453.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 73,493 shares in the company, valued at $926,746.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 19,000 shares of Flushing Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.21, for a total transaction of $250,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,885.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Flushing Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Flushing Financial by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,565,212 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,551,000 after purchasing an additional 6,158 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management raised its position in shares of Flushing Financial by 116.7% during the 3rd quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 11,493 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 6,189 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Flushing Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $482,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in Flushing Financial by 130.4% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 57,956 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $761,000 after purchasing an additional 32,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its stake in Flushing Financial by 1.1% in the third quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,158,402 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,210,000 after buying an additional 12,602 shares during the period. 67.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.