Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC) Short Interest Up 30.9% in December

Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 600,200 shares, a growth of 30.9% from the December 15th total of 458,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 297,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Flushing Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FFIC stock traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $14.76. The company had a trading volume of 198,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 539,370. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.97. Flushing Financial has a one year low of $10.74 and a one year high of $18.59. 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 company has a market capitalization of $496.82 million, a PE ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 0.81.

Flushing Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Flushing Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 101.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flushing Financial news, CAO Astrid Burrowes sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.19, for a total value of $129,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,853 shares in the company, valued at $564,270.07. This represents a 18.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sam Sang Ki Han sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.47, for a total value of $154,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 67,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,040,372.97. This represents a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Flushing Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Flushing Financial by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 452,209 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,947,000 after acquiring an additional 62,659 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Flushing Financial by 4.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 334,900 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,404,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Flushing Financial by 20.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 142,004 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,867,000 after purchasing an additional 24,008 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Flushing Financial by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 68,151 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Flushing Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. 67.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Flushing Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Flushing Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.50.

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.