Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Financial Institutions from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Financial Institutions in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.33.

Financial Institutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FISI opened at $29.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $590.41 million, a P/E ratio of -21.41 and a beta of 0.76. Financial Institutions has a twelve month low of $20.97 and a twelve month high of $29.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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

Financial Institutions announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, September 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 0.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Financial Institutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. PL Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 153.3% during the 1st quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,261,010 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,475,000 after purchasing an additional 763,259 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 89.4% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC boosted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 54.8% during the second quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 846,661 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,742,000 after buying an additional 299,574 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Financial Institutions during the second quarter worth about $6,069,000. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Financial Institutions by 132.8% in the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 348,478 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,698,000 after buying an additional 198,820 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

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.