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

StockNews.com lowered shares of Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a market perform rating and set a $25.00 price objective (up previously from $20.00) on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

Financial Institutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FISI opened at $25.81 on Friday. Financial Institutions has a 1-year low of $15.22 and a 1-year high of $27.75. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $398.69 million, a P/E ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 0.89.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.92. The firm had revenue of $102.80 million for the quarter. Financial Institutions had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 12.06%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. Research analysts expect that Financial Institutions will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders 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 4.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Financial Institutions’s payout ratio is 47.81%.

Institutional Trading of Financial Institutions

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,811 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,276 shares of the bank’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Financial Institutions in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Financial Institutions by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 155,257 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 60.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.