Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

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

Flushing Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FFIC opened at $13.40 on Tuesday. Flushing Financial has a fifty-two week low of $10.74 and a fifty-two week high of $18.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.99. The stock has a market cap of $452.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.27 and a beta of 0.79.

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 negative net margin of 6.46% and a positive return on equity of 3.25%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Flushing Financial will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 6,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.92, for a total transaction of $87,856.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $417,781.12. This represents a 17.38 % decrease in their position. 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Flushing Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Flushing Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Flushing Financial by 496.0% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,725 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Flushing Financial in the 4th quarter worth $73,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Flushing Financial by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 6,434 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.10% of the company’s stock.

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.