Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) Stock Price

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) had its target price increased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $14.50 to $16.80 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on FFIC. Raymond James Financial cut Flushing Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flushing Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Flushing Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Flushing Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $16.80.

Flushing Financial Price Performance

Flushing Financial stock opened at $15.76 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $532.37 million, a P/E ratio of 29.19 and a beta of 0.81. Flushing Financial has a 12-month low of $10.65 and a 12-month high of $17.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $16.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.38.

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

Flushing Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Flushing Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -73.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FFIC. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Flushing Financial by 56.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 197,812 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,001,000 after acquiring an additional 71,682 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Flushing Financial by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 40,900 shares of the bank’s stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 4,647 shares in the last quarter. Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Flushing Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $444,000. Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Flushing Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $212,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Flushing Financial by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,398 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 2,449 shares in the last quarter. 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.