Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $30.67 and traded as high as $32.78. Financial Institutions shares last traded at $32.77, with a volume of 71,373 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FISI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Financial Institutions from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 target price (up from $34.00) on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Financial Institutions to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Financial Institutions from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Financial Institutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Financial Institutions Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $665.06 million, a PE ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.73.

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

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Financial Institutions

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FISI. PL Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,774,886 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,277,000 after purchasing an additional 413,376 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 312,470 shares during the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 54.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 846,661 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,742,000 after purchasing an additional 299,574 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 94.6% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 459,798 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,507,000 after purchasing an additional 223,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 972,043 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,299,000 after purchasing an additional 160,825 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

About Financial Institutions

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.