Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Flushing Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FFIC)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $15.24 and traded as high as $15.53. Flushing Financial shares last traded at $15.18, with a volume of 303,293 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Flushing Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Flushing Financial from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Flushing Financial from $14.50 to $16.80 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Flushing Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Flushing Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.80.

Flushing Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $514.30 million, a PE ratio of 28.11 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.24.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) last released its quarterly 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 5.95% and a net margin of 3.86%.The firm had revenue of $58.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.27 million. Research analysts expect that Flushing Financial Corporation will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flushing Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Flushing Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 162.96%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 1,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.20, for a total transaction of $25,434.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,597.80. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 5.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Flushing Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Flushing Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $833,000. Teton Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Flushing Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $1,471,000. Patriot Financial Partners GP LP raised its holdings in Flushing Financial by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. Patriot Financial Partners GP LP now owns 675,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,019,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares during the period. CSM Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Flushing Financial by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 399,535 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,515,000 after purchasing an additional 56,085 shares during the period. Finally, Fourthstone LLC lifted its position in Flushing Financial by 147.9% during the second quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 258,075 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,066,000 after purchasing an additional 153,979 shares in the last quarter. 67.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Flushing Financial

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.