Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) Short Interest Up 95.9% in January

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 312,800 shares, an increase of 95.9% from the January 15th total of 159,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 124,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Financial Institutions news, Director Robert N. Latella acquired 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $100,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 16,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $400,000. This represents a 33.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Financial Institutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FISI. PL Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 666.8% during the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,583,625 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $370,697,000 after purchasing an additional 11,812,109 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Financial Institutions during the 4th quarter valued at $18,294,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Financial Institutions during the 4th quarter valued at $11,168,000. Fourthstone LLC grew its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 1,463.9% during the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 318,254 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,685,000 after purchasing an additional 297,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhino Investment Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Financial Institutions during the 4th quarter valued at $7,124,000. Institutional investors own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on FISI shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Financial Institutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Financial Institutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

Financial Institutions Price Performance

Shares of Financial Institutions stock traded up $0.44 on Friday, hitting $28.89. 153,957 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 150,880. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $446.93 million, a P/E ratio of -19.92 and a beta of 0.90. Financial Institutions has a 12-month low of $16.29 and a 12-month high of $29.34.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect that Financial Institutions will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. This is a positive change from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -82.76%.

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.