Short Interest in The First of Long Island Co. (NASDAQ:FLIC) Expands By 20.0%

The First of Long Island Co. (NASDAQ:FLIC – Get Rating) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 172,000 shares, a growth of 20.0% from the April 15th total of 143,300 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 58,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Several research analysts have recently commented on FLIC shares. StockNews.com upgraded First of Long Island from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Investment Research downgraded First of Long Island from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded First of Long Island from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 29th.

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in First of Long Island by 292,187.5% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 46,766 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 46,750 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in First of Long Island by 1,010.9% during the 2nd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 18,686 shares of the bank’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 17,004 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in First of Long Island during the 3rd quarter worth $317,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in First of Long Island by 338.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,218 shares of the bank’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 10,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its position in First of Long Island by 84.6% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 2,971 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,362 shares during the last quarter. 65.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NASDAQ FLIC traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.22. The company had a trading volume of 1,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 70,716. The company has a market capitalization of $421.43 million, a PE ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.87. First of Long Island has a twelve month low of $16.51 and a twelve month high of $23.69.

First of Long Island (NASDAQ:FLIC – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.06. First of Long Island had a return on equity of 10.71% and a net margin of 32.36%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First of Long Island will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.39%. First of Long Island’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.01%.

First of Long Island Company Profile (Get Rating)

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, holiday club, and individual retirement accounts.

See Also