Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $36.53 and last traded at $35.93, with a volume of 120654 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FISI shares. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 target price (up from $34.00) on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Financial Institutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Financial Institutions from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Financial Institutions from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.00.

Financial Institutions Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business’s fifty day moving average is $33.85 and its 200 day moving average is $32.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $713.37 million, a P/E ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 0.63.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.12. Financial Institutions had a net margin of 20.85% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The business had revenue of $62.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.76 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

Financial Institutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 3.5%. Financial Institutions’s payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Financial Institutions by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,802,791 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,193,000 after buying an additional 27,905 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Financial Institutions by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,095,428 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,796,000 after buying an additional 40,240 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Financial Institutions by 42.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,049,295 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,707,000 after buying an additional 312,470 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Financial Institutions by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 972,043 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,299,000 after buying an additional 160,825 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Financial Institutions by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 955,906 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,796,000 after buying an additional 4,801 shares during the period. 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.