Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on FISI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Financial Institutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $29.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Financial Institutions Stock Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ:FISI opened at $28.39 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $439.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.58 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $27.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.02. Financial Institutions has a 52-week low of $16.29 and a 52-week high of $29.34.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.20). Financial Institutions had a negative net margin of 6.69% and a positive return on equity of 11.12%. On average, analysts anticipate that Financial Institutions will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Financial Institutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.23%. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio is -82.76%.

Insider Activity at Financial Institutions

In other Financial Institutions news, Director Robert N. Latella bought 4,000 shares of Financial Institutions stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 16,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $400,000. The trade was a 33.33 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Financial Institutions

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 666.8% during the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,583,625 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $370,697,000 after purchasing an additional 11,812,109 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Financial Institutions by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 925,285 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,251,000 after buying an additional 106,612 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 424,825 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,593,000 after buying an additional 117,142 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 354,685 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,036,000 after acquiring an additional 7,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Courier Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 352,126 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,610,000 after acquiring an additional 1,887 shares during the period. 60.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Financial Institutions Company Profile

Financial Institutions, Inc operates as a holding company for the Five Star Bank, a chartered bank that provides banking and financial services to individuals, municipalities, and businesses in New York. The company provides checking and savings account programs, including money market accounts, certificates of deposit, sweep investments, and individual retirement and other qualified plan accounts, as well as NOW accounts.