Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $37.50 and last traded at $36.8350, with a volume of 14128 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Financial Institutions from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Financial Institutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Financial Institutions Trading Up 1.3%

The company has a market cap of $730.70 million, a P/E ratio of 9.66 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $34.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $62.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.76 million. Financial Institutions had a net margin of 20.85% and a return on equity of 13.08%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio is 33.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FISI. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Financial Institutions by 12.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 97,206 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,426,000 after purchasing an additional 10,590 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Financial Institutions by 30.0% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,333 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 2,617 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Financial Institutions by 7.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 74,841 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,868,000 after purchasing an additional 4,979 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Financial Institutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $375,000. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its position in Financial Institutions by 28.7% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,072 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 3,809 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.