Short Interest in Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) Expands By 30.4%

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) was the target of a large increase in short interest in 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 currently 2.8 days. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Financial Institutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FISI. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Financial Institutions in the fourth quarter worth about $18,294,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Financial Institutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,258,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Financial Institutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $440,000. Palisades Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC now owns 138,527 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,780,000 after buying an additional 11,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Financial Institutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $388,000. 60.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Financial Institutions Price Performance

Shares of FISI stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $25.05. 19,034 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 88,122. Financial Institutions has a 52 week low of $16.29 and a 52 week high of $29.79. The stock has a market cap of $502.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.27 and a beta of 0.86. 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 is $27.14 and its 200-day moving average is $26.59.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.20). Financial Institutions had a negative net margin of 6.69% and a positive return on equity of 11.12%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Financial Institutions will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.95%. This is a positive change from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -85.52%.

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.