Patriot Financial Partners GP LP Invests $6.78 Million in Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC)

Patriot Financial Partners GP LP acquired a new stake in shares of Flushing Financial Co. (NASDAQ:FFIC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 475,000 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $6,783,000. Flushing Financial comprises 2.2% of Patriot Financial Partners GP LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Flushing Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $278,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Flushing Financial by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 426,060 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,084,000 after acquiring an additional 20,558 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Flushing Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $249,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Flushing Financial by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 234,974 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its position in Flushing Financial by 496.0% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,725 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut Flushing Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Flushing Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FFIC opened at $13.10 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.04. Flushing Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $10.74 and a 52-week high of $18.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $440.93 million, a PE ratio of -12.97 and a beta of 0.79.

Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.07). Flushing Financial had a negative net margin of 6.46% and a positive return on equity of 3.25%. Analysts forecast that Flushing Financial Co. will post 1.2 EPS for the current year.

Flushing Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Flushing Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently -87.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flushing Financial

In other news, EVP Thomas Buonaiuto sold 6,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.92, for a total value of $87,856.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,781.12. This represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Flushing Financial Company Profile

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.