Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $25.98, but opened at $26.60. Financial Institutions shares last traded at $26.22, with a volume of 10,776 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FISI has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Financial Institutions in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Financial Institutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Financial Institutions Trading Up 0.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $523.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.99 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.56.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last released its quarterly earnings results 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, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.75%. 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 is currently -85.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Financial Institutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Financial Institutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,706,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Financial Institutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,364,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,798 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after buying an additional 14,606 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake 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 valued at $2,485,000 after buying an additional 23,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Financial Institutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $318,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

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.