Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $24.06, but opened at $25.46. Financial Institutions shares last traded at $25.92, with a volume of 7,320 shares.

The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $57.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.14 million. Financial Institutions had a negative net margin of 6.69% and a positive return on equity of 11.12%.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently -85.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FISI. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Financial Institutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Financial Institutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $29.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

Institutional Trading of Financial Institutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Financial Institutions during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in Financial Institutions by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,196 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Financial Institutions in the fourth quarter valued at $87,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Financial Institutions by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,716 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

Financial Institutions Stock Up 6.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.22. The company has a market cap of $516.32 million, a PE ratio of -17.77 and a beta of 0.68.

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.