Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $33.11 and last traded at $33.4050, with a volume of 72668 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FISI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Financial Institutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, December 28th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Zacks Research raised Financial Institutions to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Financial Institutions from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Financial Institutions currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.67.

Financial Institutions Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $644.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.37 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $31.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.58.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The bank reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Financial Institutions had a positive return on equity of 11.10% and a negative net margin of 2.93%.The business had revenue of $63.85 million during the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Financial Institutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently -90.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Financial Institutions by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 97,206 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,426,000 after purchasing an additional 10,590 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 30.0% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,333 shares of the bank’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 2,617 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 7.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 74,841 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,868,000 after buying an additional 4,979 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Financial Institutions in the 1st quarter worth approximately $375,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Financial Institutions in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $470,000. 60.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Financial Institutions Company Profile

Financial Institutions, Inc (NASDAQ: FISI) is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide tax-advantaged income to shareholders. The company invests primarily in investment-grade municipal obligations issued by states, municipalities and government agencies across the United States. By focusing on high-credit-quality bonds, Financial Institutions aims to deliver current income that is exempt from federal income tax.

In constructing its portfolio, the company may also utilize money market instruments and repurchase agreements to manage liquidity and facilitate efficient settlement.