Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a market perform rating and set a $25.00 price target (up previously from $20.00) on shares of Financial Institutions in a report on Monday, July 29th.

Financial Institutions Stock Performance

Shares of FISI stock opened at $25.81 on Friday. Financial Institutions has a one year low of $15.22 and a one year high of $27.75. The company’s 50-day moving average is $24.05 and its 200 day moving average is $20.14. The company has a market capitalization of $398.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.92. The company had revenue of $102.80 million for the quarter. Financial Institutions had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 12.06%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Financial Institutions will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Financial Institutions’s payout ratio is 47.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Financial Institutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Financial Institutions in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Financial Institutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $98,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 150.4% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 3,266 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 9.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,811 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 11.0% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,276 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

Financial Institutions Company Profile

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.