Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) Short Interest Up 20.3% in February

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 376,200 shares, a growth of 20.3% from the January 31st total of 312,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 141,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FISI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Financial Institutions from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $29.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Financial Institutions from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $33.00 target price for the company.

Financial Institutions Price Performance

Shares of Financial Institutions stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $26.93. 181,563 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 74,152. The stock has a market cap of $416.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.57 and a beta of 0.86. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $27.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.51. Financial Institutions has a 12 month low of $16.29 and a 12 month high of $29.79.

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Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (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 forecast that Financial Institutions will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Financial Institutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.60%. Financial Institutions's payout ratio is -85.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert N. Latella bought 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $400,000. This represents a 33.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Financial Institutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Financial Institutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its holdings in Financial Institutions by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,196 shares of the bank's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Financial Institutions by 119.3% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,572 shares of the bank's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,399 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Financial Institutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $87,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Financial Institutions by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,418 shares of the bank's stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. 60.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Financial Institutions Company Profile

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.