Short Interest in Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) Rises By 95.9%

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 312,800 shares, a growth of 95.9% from the January 15th total of 159,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 124,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Financial Institutions

In other Financial Institutions news, Director Robert N. Latella acquired 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 16,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $400,000. This represents a 33.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Financial Institutions

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Financial Institutions by 666.8% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,583,625 shares of the bank's stock worth $370,697,000 after acquiring an additional 11,812,109 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Financial Institutions by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 971,659 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,516,000 after acquiring an additional 14,733 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 925,285 shares of the bank's stock worth $25,251,000 after purchasing an additional 106,612 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Financial Institutions in the fourth quarter worth about $18,294,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 424,825 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,593,000 after purchasing an additional 117,142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.45% of the company's stock.

Financial Institutions Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of FISI traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $28.89. 153,957 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 150,880. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.08. Financial Institutions has a 52 week low of $16.29 and a 52 week high of $29.34. The company has a market cap of $446.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.92 and a beta of 0.90.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Financial Institutions will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The business 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 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. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. Financial Institutions's payout ratio is currently -82.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on FISI shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Financial Institutions from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $29.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Financial Institutions from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

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.