Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on FISI. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of Financial Institutions in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Financial Institutions in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of 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 research note on Monday.

Financial Institutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ FISI opened at $27.63 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.90. Financial Institutions has a 12-month low of $16.29 and a 12-month high of $29.34. The firm has a market cap of $427.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.06 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last issued its earnings results 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 negative net margin of 6.69% and a positive return on equity of 11.12%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Financial Institutions will post 3.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Financial Institutions

In other news, Director Robert N. Latella bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $400,000. The trade was a 33.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Financial Institutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Financial Institutions by 666.8% during the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,583,625 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $370,697,000 after buying an additional 11,812,109 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 354,685 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,036,000 after acquiring an additional 7,045 shares in the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC lifted its position in Financial Institutions by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 352,126 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,610,000 after acquiring an additional 1,887 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Financial Institutions by 6.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 283,707 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,309,000 after acquiring an additional 17,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. bought a new stake in Financial Institutions during the fourth quarter worth about $6,140,000. 60.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.