Financial Institutions’ (FISI) “Equal Weight” Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Stephens restated their equal weight rating on shares of Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $32.00 price target on the bank’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on FISI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Financial Institutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $34.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Financial Institutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Financial Institutions in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company.

Financial Institutions Price Performance

Shares of FISI stock opened at $26.00 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $402.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.93 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.35 and its 200 day moving average is $26.55. Financial Institutions has a twelve month low of $16.29 and a twelve month high of $29.79.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last released its earnings results 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 positive return on equity of 11.12% and a negative net margin of 6.69%. Research analysts expect that Financial Institutions will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.77%. This is a boost from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Financial Institutions’s payout ratio is -85.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Financial Institutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FISI. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Financial Institutions by 119.3% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,572 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 1,399 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Financial Institutions in the 3rd quarter worth about $513,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 66,450 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,692,000 after purchasing an additional 3,350 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in Financial Institutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,364,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Financial Institutions by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 97,559 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 23,885 shares during the period. 60.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.