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 report released on Thursday morning.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on FISI. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Financial Institutions in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Financial Institutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $34.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Financial Institutions Stock Down 1.2 %

Financial Institutions stock opened at $26.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $526.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.07 and a beta of 0.70. 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 52 week low of $16.81 and a 52 week high of $29.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $24.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.22.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $57.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.14 million. Financial Institutions had a positive return on equity of 11.12% and a negative net margin of 6.69%. On average, analysts expect that Financial Institutions will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.73%. This is a positive change from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently -165.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Financial Institutions

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

About Financial Institutions

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.