Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Upgraded at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $34.00 price objective on the bank’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $29.00.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Financial Institutions in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Financial Institutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Financial Institutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FISI opened at $27.88 on Monday. Financial Institutions has a twelve month low of $16.29 and a twelve month high of $29.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $27.06 and its 200-day moving average is $25.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $431.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.23 and a beta of 0.90.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.20). Financial Institutions had a positive return on equity of 11.12% and a negative net margin of 6.69%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Financial Institutions will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently -82.76%.

Insider Transactions at Financial Institutions

In other Financial Institutions news, Director Robert N. Latella bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $400,000. This trade represents a 33.33 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Financial Institutions

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PL Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 666.8% during the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,583,625 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $370,697,000 after acquiring an additional 11,812,109 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Financial Institutions by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 354,685 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,036,000 after purchasing an additional 7,045 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC increased its position in Financial Institutions by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 352,126 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,610,000 after buying an additional 1,887 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 6.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 283,707 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,309,000 after buying an additional 17,395 shares during the period. Finally, Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Financial Institutions during the 4th quarter valued at $6,140,000. 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.