Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on FISI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Financial Institutions from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.67.

Financial Institutions Stock Performance

Financial Institutions stock opened at $32.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $644.76 million, a PE ratio of -23.38 and a beta of 0.72. Financial Institutions has a one year low of $20.97 and a one year high of $33.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $29.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The bank reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Financial Institutions had a negative net margin of 2.93% and a positive return on equity of 11.10%. The company had revenue of $63.85 million for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Financial Institutions will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to reacquire up to 0.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Financial Institutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,031,395 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,744,000 after acquiring an additional 106,110 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,338 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,002,000 after acquiring an additional 35,015 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Financial Institutions during the first quarter worth $1,179,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Financial Institutions during the first quarter worth $413,000. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 132.8% in the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 348,478 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,698,000 after purchasing an additional 198,820 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

About Financial Institutions

Financial Institutions, Inc (NASDAQ: FISI) is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide tax-advantaged income to shareholders. The company invests primarily in investment-grade municipal obligations issued by states, municipalities and government agencies across the United States. By focusing on high-credit-quality bonds, Financial Institutions aims to deliver current income that is exempt from federal income tax.

In constructing its portfolio, the company may also utilize money market instruments and repurchase agreements to manage liquidity and facilitate efficient settlement.