Short Interest in Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) Expands By 30.4%

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 484,000 shares, an increase of 30.4% from the February 28th total of 371,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 171,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Financial Institutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 45.5% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,196 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Financial Institutions during the 4th quarter worth $87,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,418 shares of the bank’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,716 shares of the bank’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. 60.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on FISI. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Financial Institutions in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Financial Institutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Financial Institutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $29.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Financial Institutions in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock.

Financial Institutions Price Performance

Shares of Financial Institutions stock traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $25.33. The stock had a trading volume of 145,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 88,856. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $27.09 and its 200 day moving average is $26.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Financial Institutions has a twelve month low of $16.29 and a twelve month high of $29.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $508.58 million, a PE ratio of -17.47 and a beta of 0.86.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities analysts expect that Financial Institutions will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio is -85.52%.

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.