Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (up previously from $20.00) on shares of Financial Institutions in a report on Monday, July 29th.

Financial Institutions Trading Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ:FISI traded down $0.37 on Wednesday, reaching $22.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 32,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,065. Financial Institutions has a 12-month low of $15.22 and a 12-month high of $27.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $350.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.16.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.92. Financial Institutions had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 13.95%. The company had revenue of $102.80 million for the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Financial Institutions will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Financial Institutions by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,299 shares of the bank’s stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 1,817 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 193.3% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in shares of Financial Institutions during the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 58,600 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 4,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 31,260 shares of the bank’s stock worth $666,000 after acquiring an additional 8,206 shares in the last quarter. 60.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Financial Institutions Company Profile

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.