Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $30.41 and last traded at $30.5320, with a volume of 33450 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FISI. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Financial Institutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Financial Institutions from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.33.

Financial Institutions Stock Up 3.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $614.80 million, a P/E ratio of -22.38 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.85.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $64.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.46 million. Financial Institutions had a positive return on equity of 11.27% and a negative net margin of 2.93%. On average, research analysts predict that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio is -90.51%.

Financial Institutions declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, September 22nd that permits the company to buyback $1.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to buy up to 0.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Financial Institutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. PL Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 153.3% in the 1st quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,261,010 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,475,000 after buying an additional 763,259 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in Financial Institutions by 89.4% during the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 775,171 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,348,000 after buying an additional 365,924 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC boosted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 54.8% in the second quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 846,661 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,742,000 after acquiring an additional 299,574 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Financial Institutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,069,000. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 132.8% during the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 348,478 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,698,000 after acquiring an additional 198,820 shares in the last quarter. 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.