Flushing Financial's (NASDAQ:FFIC) Dividend Will Be $0.22

Flushing Financial Corporation's (NASDAQ:FFIC) investors are due to receive a payment of $0.22 per share on 23rd of June. Based on this payment, the dividend yield on the company's stock will be 8.2%, which is an attractive boost to shareholder returns.

While the dividend yield is important for income investors, it is also important to consider any large share price moves, as this will generally outweigh any gains from distributions. Flushing Financial's stock price has reduced by 46% in the last 3 months, which is not ideal for investors and can explain a sharp increase in the dividend yield.

See 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.

Flushing Financial has a long history of paying out dividends, with its current track record at a minimum of 10 years. Taking data from its last earnings report, calculating for the company's payout ratio shows 42%, which means that Flushing Financial would be able to pay its last dividend without pressure on the balance sheet.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to fall by 6.7%. But if the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the future payout ratio could be 45%, which we would consider to be quite comfortable looking forward, with most of the company's earnings left over to grow the business in the future.

Flushing Financial Has A Solid Track Record

The company has an extended history of paying stable dividends. Since 2013, the dividend has gone from $0.52 total annually to $0.88. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 5.4% over that duration. The dividend has been growing very nicely for a number of years, and has given its shareholders some nice income in their portfolios.

We Could See Flushing Financial's Dividend Growing

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 9.4% per annum. Earnings are on the uptrend, and it is only paying a small portion of those earnings to shareholders.

We Really Like Flushing Financial's Dividend

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 earnings easily cover the company's distributions, and the company is generating plenty of cash. 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. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. Just as an example, we've come across 2 warning signs for Flushing Financial you should be aware of, and 1 of them shouldn't be ignored. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield dividend stocks.

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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.