Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $29.88 and last traded at $29.79, with a volume of 87397 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FISI has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Financial Institutions from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Financial Institutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Financial Institutions from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.33.

Financial Institutions Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $599.70 million, a PE ratio of -21.74 and a beta of 0.76.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $64.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.46 million. Financial Institutions had a negative net margin of 2.93% and a positive return on equity of 11.27%. Equities analysts expect that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Financial Institutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Financial Institutions’s payout ratio is presently -90.51%.

Financial Institutions declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, September 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 0.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FISI. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,011 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Financial Institutions by 0.4% in the third quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC now owns 137,522 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,780,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Financial Institutions by 8.1% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,222 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Cutler Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 1.9% during the second quarter. Cutler Capital Management LLC now owns 47,925 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 29.8% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 4,805 shares of the bank’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

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.