Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) Short Interest Update

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 484,000 shares, an increase of 30.4% from the February 28th total of 371,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 171,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Financial Institutions

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FISI. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in Financial Institutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,706,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 48.4% during the third 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. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Financial Institutions in the fourth quarter valued at $318,000. PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Financial Institutions by 666.8% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,583,625 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $370,697,000 after buying an additional 11,812,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 112,129 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,060,000 after buying an additional 14,570 shares during the last quarter. 60.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Financial Institutions Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of FISI stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Monday, reaching $24.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 77,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 88,089. The company has a market capitalization of $501.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.23 and a beta of 0.86. Financial Institutions has a 1-year low of $16.29 and a 1-year high of $29.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $27.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.59.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Financial Institutions will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -85.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FISI shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Financial Institutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Financial Institutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $29.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Financial Institutions in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company.

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.