Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $35.56 and last traded at $35.34, with a volume of 24658 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.24.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on FISI. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective (up from $34.00) on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Financial Institutions to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Financial Institutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Financial Institutions from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Financial Institutions from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Financial Institutions Trading Up 2.6%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $32.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.00. The company has a market cap of $691.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.01. Financial Institutions had a net margin of 19.81% and a return on equity of 12.62%. The company had revenue of $64.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.99 million. Research analysts anticipate that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Financial Institutions by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 93,507 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,915,000 after buying an additional 8,994 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in Financial Institutions by 182.7% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 23,899 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $745,000 after buying an additional 15,444 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Financial Institutions by 42.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,049,295 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,707,000 after buying an additional 312,470 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Financial Institutions by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 163,507 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,097,000 after buying an additional 8,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP grew its stake in Financial Institutions by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 92,246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,875,000 after buying an additional 22,391 shares during the last quarter. 60.45% of the stock is currently 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.