Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

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

Several other research firms have also commented on FFIC. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Flushing Financial from $17.00 to $13.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Flushing Financial from $15.50 to $14.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Flushing Financial from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Flushing Financial Stock Down 2.6 %

FFIC traded down $0.30 on Thursday, hitting $11.38. 226,175 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 194,185. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $330.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $12.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.82. Flushing Financial has a twelve month low of $9.28 and a twelve month high of $18.00.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Flushing Financial had a return on equity of 4.31% and a net margin of 6.81%. The firm had revenue of $112.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Flushing Financial will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flushing Financial

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Flushing Financial by 290.9% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 114,404 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 85,139 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Flushing Financial in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp purchased a new position in Flushing Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $287,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Flushing Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $307,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Flushing Financial by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,217 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 4,476 shares during the last quarter. 67.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Flushing Financial Company Profile

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.