Short Interest in Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) Grows By 30.4%

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 484,000 shares, a growth of 30.4% from the February 28th total of 371,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 171,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Financial Institutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FISI traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $24.96. 77,375 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 88,089. Financial Institutions has a 1-year low of $16.29 and a 1-year high of $29.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $501.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.23 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $27.18 and a 200 day moving average of $26.59.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last announced 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 positive return on equity of 11.12% and a negative net margin of 6.69%. Research analysts anticipate that Financial Institutions will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.97%. This is a positive change from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Financial Institutions’s payout ratio is presently -85.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Financial Institutions

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 124,428 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,169,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Financial Institutions by 18.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,368 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 6,025 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 421.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,793 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 15,997 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its position in Financial Institutions by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 57,035 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 3,603 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 59,725 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,521,000 after buying an additional 1,137 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FISI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Financial Institutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Financial Institutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Financial Institutions in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company.

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.