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Flushing Financial (FFIC) Stock Up on New Share Buyback Plan

Shares of Flushing Financial Corporation FFIC gained almost 1% in aftermarket trading following the announcement of an increase in share repurchase authorization. The board of directors has approved the repurchase of up to 1 million shares of FFIC’s outstanding stock.

The buyback program, which is effective immediately and has no expiration date, is in addition to the existing authorization. Under the existing plan, FFIC had repurchased 0.4 million shares during the first quarter.

Subsequent to the first quarter-end and as of May 10, 2022, Flushing Financial repurchased 147,307 shares for $32.2 million. Thus, the combined buyback authorization remaining was 1.3 million shares.

Concurrently, FFIC announced a quarterly dividend of 22 cents per share. The dividend will be paid out on Jun 24 to shareholders of record on Jun 3. Based on last day’s closing price of $22.33, the company’s dividend yield currently stands at 3.94%, which is impressive compared with the industry’s yield of 2.34%.

This February, the company announced a 4.8% hike in dividend to the current level. This was the first dividend increase since 2019. At that time, Flushing Financial had raised the dividend by 5% to 20 cents per share.

John R. Buran, the President and CEO of FFIC, said, “The increase in the share repurchase authorization and the quarterly dividend payment, highlights our commitment to shareholders while supporting and investing in the franchise over the short and long term. An improving local economy, in-market merger disruption, and a record loan pipeline should translate into improved growth in 2022.”

Supported by its earnings strength and solid balance sheet, the company is expected to continue with efficient capital deployment activities. Through this, Flushing Financial will keep enhancing shareholder value.

Over the past year, shares of FFIC have lost 3.4% compared with a 17.9% decline of the industry it belongs to.

Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Investment Research


Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Currently, the company carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Other Banks That Took Similar Action

Valley National Bancorp VLY announced a new share repurchase plan. The company’s board of directors approved a stock repurchase program for up to 25 million shares of VLY. The authorization to repurchase will expire on Apr 25, 2024.

Valley National has terminated its 2007 stock repurchase program.

Enterprise Financial Services Corp EFSC announced a new share repurchase program of up to 2,000,000 shares of common stock. This represented approximately 5% of EFSC’s issued and outstanding shares as of Mar 31, 2022.

Per management, the new buyback plan reflects the strength of the company’s earnings trends, balance sheet and capital position. EFSC has returned more than $93 million to common shareholders through share repurchases since January 2021.


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Valley National Bancorp (VLY) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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