Short Interest in Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) Expands By 26.8%

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 159,700 shares, a growth of 26.8% from the December 31st total of 125,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 101,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Insider Transactions at Financial Institutions

In other Financial Institutions news, Director Robert N. Latella acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $400,000. The trade was a 33.33 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.68% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Financial Institutions

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 6.0% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 64,257 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,241,000 after acquiring an additional 3,637 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in shares of Financial Institutions during the second quarter worth approximately $466,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 147.3% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 63,213 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,221,000 after buying an additional 37,653 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Financial Institutions during the third quarter worth $164,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in Financial Institutions by 50.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.45% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Financial Institutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Financial Institutions in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Financial Institutions from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $29.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Monday.

Financial Institutions Stock Performance

FISI stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $27.88. The company had a trading volume of 86,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 147,558. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.90. Financial Institutions has a twelve month low of $16.29 and a twelve month high of $29.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $431.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.23 and a beta of 0.90.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI - Get Free Report) last issued 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 negative net margin of 6.69% and a positive return on equity of 11.12%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Financial Institutions will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Financial Institutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.30%. Financial Institutions's payout ratio is -82.76%.

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.