Short Interest in Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) Increases By 12.7%

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 107,700 shares, a growth of 12.7% from the August 31st total of 95,600 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 57,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Financial Institutions Stock Up 0.1 %

FISI stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $25.18. 18,034 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 52,592. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.57. The company has a market capitalization of $388.96 million, a PE ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 0.89. Financial Institutions has a twelve month low of $15.22 and a twelve month high of $27.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.92. Financial Institutions had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 13.95%. The business had revenue of $102.80 million during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Financial Institutions will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FISI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $25.00 target price (up from $20.00) on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Financial Institutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Financial Institutions

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Financial Institutions in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Financial Institutions in the first quarter worth about $98,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 150.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the bank’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 3,266 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 9.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,811 shares of the bank’s stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 11.0% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,276 shares of the bank’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.