Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

FISI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Zacks Research raised Financial Institutions to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Financial Institutions in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.67.

Financial Institutions Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ FISI opened at $31.99 on Friday. Financial Institutions has a 52-week low of $20.97 and a 52-week high of $33.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $643.96 million, a P/E ratio of -23.35 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $30.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.76.

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

Financial Institutions declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, September 22nd that permits the company to buyback $1.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to buy up to 0.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Financial Institutions by 6.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 477,865 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,274,000 after purchasing an additional 27,770 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Financial Institutions during the 1st quarter worth $1,179,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 5.0% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 24,489 shares of the bank’s stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 1,157 shares in the last quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 8.0% during the second quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,361,510 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,964,000 after buying an additional 100,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Financial Institutions in the first quarter valued at about $400,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

Financial Institutions Company Profile

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.