Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) Short Interest Up 30.4% in March

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 484,000 shares, an increase of 30.4% from the February 28th total of 371,300 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 171,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Financial Institutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 666.8% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,583,625 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $370,697,000 after purchasing an additional 11,812,109 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Financial Institutions during the fourth quarter worth about $18,294,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Financial Institutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,168,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Financial Institutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,320,000. Finally, Fourthstone LLC boosted its position in Financial Institutions by 1,463.9% during the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 318,254 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,685,000 after acquiring an additional 297,904 shares during the last quarter. 60.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FISI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Financial Institutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $34.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Financial Institutions in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Financial Institutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th.

Financial Institutions Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:FISI traded up $0.09 on Tuesday, reaching $25.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 19,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 88,122. The firm has a market cap of $502.85 million, a PE ratio of -17.27 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $27.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.59. Financial Institutions has a 1-year low of $16.29 and a 1-year high of $29.79.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.20). Financial Institutions had a negative net margin of 6.69% and a positive return on equity of 11.12%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Financial Institutions will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is an increase from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.95%. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently -85.52%.

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.