Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) Short Interest Update

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) saw a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 312,800 shares, an increase of 95.9% from the January 15th total of 159,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 124,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert N. Latella bought 4,000 shares of Financial Institutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $100,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 16,000 shares in the company, valued at $400,000. This represents a 33.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Financial Institutions

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 11,812,109 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 971,659 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,516,000 after buying an additional 14,733 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 925,285 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,251,000 after buying an additional 106,612 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Financial Institutions in the fourth quarter valued at $18,294,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 424,825 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,593,000 after purchasing an additional 117,142 shares during the period. 60.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Financial Institutions Trading Up 1.5 %

FISI stock traded up $0.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $28.89. 153,957 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 150,880. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.10. Financial Institutions has a 52-week low of $16.29 and a 52-week high of $29.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $446.93 million, a PE ratio of -19.92 and a beta of 0.90.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.54 EPS 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Financial Institutions will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. This is a boost from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio is -82.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on FISI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Financial Institutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Financial Institutions in a research 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, StockNews.com upgraded Financial Institutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday.

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.