The First of Long Island Co. (NASDAQ:FLIC) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

The First of Long Island Co. (NASDAQ:FLIC) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 150,700 shares, a drop of 8.2% from the March 15th total of 164,200 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 164,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of First of Long Island from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First of Long Island

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in shares of First of Long Island in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in First of Long Island in the 4th quarter worth approximately $144,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First of Long Island by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,136,072 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,042,000 after buying an additional 11,674 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of First of Long Island by 135.0% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,432 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 25,527 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First of Long Island by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 60,110 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $796,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169 shares in the last quarter. 48.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First of Long Island Trading Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ FLIC traded down $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $10.05. 136,846 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 166,383. The firm has a market cap of $225.72 million, a P/E ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $10.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. First of Long Island has a 12-month low of $8.79 and a 12-month high of $14.26.

First of Long Island (NASDAQ:FLIC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.27. The business had revenue of $22.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.20 million. First of Long Island had a return on equity of 7.13% and a net margin of 16.22%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First of Long Island will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

First of Long Island Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.36%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. First of Long Island’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.79%.

First of Long Island Company Profile

The First of Long Island Corporation operates as the holding company for The First National Bank of Long Island that provides financial services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, consumers, municipalities, and other organizations. The company offers business and small business checking, personal checking, negotiable order of withdrawal, interest on lawyer, escrow service, rent security, personal and nonpersonal money market, savings, time deposit, and individual retirement accounts.