Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Financial Institutions from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Financial Institutions Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of FISI stock opened at $26.65 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.94. Financial Institutions has a 52 week low of $16.29 and a 52 week high of $29.34. The stock has a market cap of $412.38 million, a P/E ratio of 8.38 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $50.12 million for the quarter. Financial Institutions had a return on equity of 11.32% and a net margin of 13.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Financial Institutions will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Financial Institutions

In other news, Director Robert N. Latella acquired 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $400,000. The trade was a 33.33 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Financial Institutions

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Financial Institutions in the second quarter worth about $25,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 119.3% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,572 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,399 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Financial Institutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $164,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in Financial Institutions by 50.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,172 shares of the bank’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 2,734 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebrook Private Inc. purchased a new stake in Financial Institutions in the third quarter worth $218,000. 60.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.