Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold” Rating

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

Flushing Financial Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:FFIC traded down $0.04 on Monday, hitting $13.06. 327,240 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 214,384. Flushing Financial has a 52 week low of $10.74 and a 52 week high of $18.59. The company has a market cap of $441.13 million, a P/E ratio of -12.93 and a beta of 0.79. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $14.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.03.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.07). Flushing Financial had a positive return on equity of 3.25% and a negative net margin of 6.46%. As a group, analysts expect that Flushing Financial will post 1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 6,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.92, for a total value of $87,856.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,781.12. This represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 6.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Flushing Financial by 5.4% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 92,312 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 4,690 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Flushing Financial by 123.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 27,383 shares of the bank’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 15,129 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Flushing Financial by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 233,236 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,401,000 after acquiring an additional 4,876 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Flushing Financial by 64.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,259 shares of the bank’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,836 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Flushing Financial by 18.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,661 shares of the bank’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100 shares during the period. 67.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.