Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 56,100 shares, an increase of 41.7% from the May 31st total of 39,600 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 48,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Institutional Trading of Financial Institutions

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 784,928 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,772,000 after purchasing an additional 16,462 shares in the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 55.8% in the 1st quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 338,686 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,374,000 after purchasing an additional 121,233 shares in the last quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 59.6% in the 1st quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 301,281 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,670,000 after purchasing an additional 112,481 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 298,398 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,615,000 after purchasing an additional 64,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 58,600 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 4,375 shares in the last quarter. 60.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price objective (down previously from $23.00) on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.67.

Financial Institutions Trading Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ:FISI traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $19.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 57,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 51,969. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Financial Institutions has a twelve month low of $15.22 and a twelve month high of $23.11. The stock has a market cap of $293.55 million, a P/E ratio of 7.57 and a beta of 0.90.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The bank reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.55). Financial Institutions had a return on equity of 9.66% and a net margin of 11.53%. The business had revenue of $50.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.48 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Financial Institutions will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Financial Institutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Financial Institutions’s payout ratio is 47.81%.

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.