Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) Short Interest Up 12.7% in September

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 107,700 shares, an increase of 12.7% from the August 31st total of 95,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 57,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Financial Institutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (up from $20.00) on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Financial Institutions

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FISI. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Financial Institutions in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Financial Institutions during the first quarter valued at about $98,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Financial Institutions by 150.4% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the bank’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 3,266 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Financial Institutions by 9.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,811 shares of the bank’s stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Financial Institutions by 11.0% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,276 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216 shares during the last quarter. 60.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Financial Institutions Stock Up 1.2 %

FISI stock opened at $25.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.44 million, a PE ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Financial Institutions has a twelve month low of $15.22 and a twelve month high of $27.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $24.88 and its 200-day moving average is $20.59.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.92. The business had revenue of $102.80 million for the quarter. Financial Institutions had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 13.95%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Financial Institutions will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.81%.

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.