** Shares of regional lender Flushing Financial Corp FFIC.O down 8.4% at $15.80 early Fri to lowest since Nov 1 after equity raise

** Parent of Flushing Bank late Thurs sold $4.6 mln shares at $15.25 for $70 mln gross raise

** Offering price represents 11.6% discount to stock's last sale

** Uniondale, New York-based firm plans to use net proceeds for potential balance sheet repositioning, as well as potential sale of certain of its commercial real estate loans

** KBW, Piper Sandler and Raymond James are jt bookrunners for offering

** Other regional lenders, including Washington Trust WASH.O and Dime Community Bancshares DCOM.O, which also raised equity last month for potential balance sheet repositioning, have raised capital recently in wake of a President-elect Donald Trump-fueled rally in bank stocks

** Prior to offering, FFIC had ~29.1 mln shares outstanding for ~$500 mln market cap

** Through Thurs close, FFIC shares had gained ~25% over the past three months. With move on Fri, shares ~4% YTD

(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)

((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))