Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

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

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Financial Institutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $29.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler began coverage on Financial Institutions in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Friday.

Financial Institutions Stock Performance

Shares of FISI stock opened at $26.72 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.83. 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 has a market cap of $413.36 million, a PE ratio of -18.43 and a beta of 0.90. Financial Institutions has a 1 year low of $16.29 and a 1 year high of $29.34.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.20). Financial Institutions had a positive return on equity of 11.12% and a negative net margin of 6.69%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Financial Institutions will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.49%. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -82.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert N. Latella acquired 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 16,000 shares in the company, valued at $400,000. This trade represents a 33.33 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Financial Institutions

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 124,428 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,169,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,418 shares of the bank’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 964 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Financial Institutions in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 59,725 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 119.3% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,572 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,399 shares during the period. 60.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.