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

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

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price objective (up from $34.00) on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Financial Institutions to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Financial Institutions from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.33.

Financial Institutions Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ FISI opened at $34.41 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $32.47 and its 200-day moving average is $29.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $692.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 0.70. Financial Institutions has a twelve month low of $20.97 and a twelve month high of $35.47.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $64.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.99 million. Financial Institutions had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 19.81%. Equities research analysts predict that Financial Institutions will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 97,206 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,426,000 after buying an additional 10,590 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Financial Institutions by 30.0% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,333 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 2,617 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 7.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 74,841 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,868,000 after purchasing an additional 4,979 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Financial Institutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $375,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Financial Institutions in the second quarter worth about $470,000. Institutional investors own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

About Financial Institutions

Financial Institutions, Inc (NASDAQ: FISI) is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide tax-advantaged income to shareholders. The company invests primarily in investment-grade municipal obligations issued by states, municipalities and government agencies across the United States. By focusing on high-credit-quality bonds, Financial Institutions aims to deliver current income that is exempt from federal income tax.

In constructing its portfolio, the company may also utilize money market instruments and repurchase agreements to manage liquidity and facilitate efficient settlement.