Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 312,800 shares, an increase of 95.9% from the January 15th total of 159,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 124,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Financial Institutions news, Director Robert N. Latella bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $400,000. This represents a 33.33 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Financial Institutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Financial Institutions in the third quarter valued at about $513,000. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Financial Institutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,706,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Financial Institutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,364,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,798 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 14,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 97,559 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 23,885 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Financial Institutions in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Financial Institutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Financial Institutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Financial Institutions Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of FISI stock traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $28.89. 153,957 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 150,880. The firm has a market capitalization of $446.93 million, a P/E ratio of -19.92 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.10. Financial Institutions has a 12-month low of $16.29 and a 12-month high of $29.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.20). Financial Institutions had a positive return on equity of 11.12% and a negative net margin of 6.69%. As a group, research analysts expect that Financial Institutions will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -82.76%.

About Financial Institutions

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.