Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on FISI. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price target (up from $34.00) on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Financial Institutions from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Financial Institutions from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Financial Institutions Stock Performance

FISI opened at $35.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Financial Institutions has a 12-month low of $24.41 and a 12-month high of $35.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $697.22 million, a PE ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 0.63.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.12. Financial Institutions had a net margin of 20.85% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The business had revenue of $62.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.76 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Financial Institutions will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Financial Institutions

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FISI. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,802,791 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,193,000 after buying an additional 27,905 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,095,428 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,796,000 after buying an additional 40,240 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 42.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,049,295 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,707,000 after buying an additional 312,470 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 160,825 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Financial Institutions by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 955,906 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,796,000 after acquiring an additional 4,801 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.