Flushing Financial (NASDAQ:FFIC) Will Pay A Dividend Of $0.22

Flushing Financial Corporation's (NASDAQ:FFIC) investors are due to receive a payment of $0.22 per share on 31st of March. This means the annual payment is 4.5% of the current stock price, which is above the average for the industry.

View our latest analysis for Flushing Financial

Flushing Financial's Dividend Forecasted To Be Well Covered By Earnings

We like to see robust dividend yields, but that doesn't matter if the payment isn't sustainable.

Having distributed dividends for at least 10 years, Flushing Financial has a long history of paying out a part of its earnings to shareholders. Taking data from its last earnings report, calculating for the company's payout ratio shows 35%, which means that Flushing Financial would be able to pay its last dividend without pressure on the balance sheet.

Over the next 3 years, EPS is forecast to fall by 45.2%. However, as estimated by analysts, the future payout ratio could be 50% over the same time period, which we think the company can easily maintain.

Flushing Financial Has A Solid Track Record

The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. Since 2013, the dividend has gone from $0.52 total annually to $0.88. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 5.4% per annum over that time. Companies like this can be very valuable over the long term, if the decent rate of growth can be maintained.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. Flushing Financial has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 13% per annum. A low payout ratio and decent growth suggests that the company is reinvesting well, and it also has plenty of room to increase the dividend over time.

Flushing Financial Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

Overall, we think that this is a great income investment, and we think that maintaining the dividend this year may have been a conservative choice. The distributions are easily covered by earnings, and there is plenty of cash being generated as well. If earnings do fall over the next 12 months, the dividend could be buffeted a little bit, but we don't think it should cause too much of a problem in the long term. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. As an example, we've identified 1 warning sign for Flushing Financial that you should be aware of before investing. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.