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

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $30.96 and last traded at $30.85, with a volume of 42747 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Financial Institutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Financial Institutions from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.33.

Financial Institutions Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $616.15 million, a P/E ratio of -22.34 and a beta of 0.76. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.96.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $64.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.46 million. Financial Institutions had a negative net margin of 2.93% and a positive return on equity of 11.27%. Equities research analysts forecast that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -90.51%.

Financial Institutions declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, September 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 0.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Financial Institutions

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Financial Institutions by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,011 shares of the bank’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its stake in Financial Institutions by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,647 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 0.4% in the third quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC now owns 137,522 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,780,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 5.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,922 shares of the bank’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cutler Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 1.9% in the second quarter. Cutler Capital Management LLC now owns 47,925 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. 60.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.