Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) Stock

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) had its target price hoisted by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $14.50 to $16.80 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.40% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on FFIC. Raymond James Financial lowered Flushing Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Zacks Research downgraded Flushing Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Flushing Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flushing Financial in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Flushing Financial has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $16.80.

Flushing Financial Price Performance

Flushing Financial stock opened at $15.79 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $533.35 million, a PE ratio of 29.24 and a beta of 0.81. Flushing Financial has a 52 week low of $10.65 and a 52 week high of $17.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.03). Flushing Financial had a return on equity of 5.96% and a net margin of 3.86%.The business had revenue of $58.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.27 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Flushing Financial will post 1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flushing Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFIC. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Flushing Financial by 75.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,847 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650 shares during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its position in Flushing Financial by 37.0% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 8,119 shares of the bank’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194 shares in the last quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP purchased a new position in Flushing Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $147,000. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Flushing Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $152,000. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in Flushing Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $177,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.10% of the company’s stock.

Flushing Financial Company Profile

Flushing Financial Corporation is the bank holding company for Flushing Bank, a community-oriented financial institution headquartered in Flushing, Queens, New York. Tracing its origins to the founding of Flushing Bank in 1929, the holding company was established in 2006 to support the bank’s growth and diversification. Flushing Financial operates under the Nasdaq ticker FFIC, delivering a full suite of banking services to personal, commercial and institutional customers.

The company’s primary business activities include deposit-taking, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage banking and treasury management.