Brokerages Set Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) Target Price at $35.33

Shares of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.3333.

A number of research firms recently commented on FISI. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 target price (up from $34.00) on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Financial Institutions from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research raised Financial Institutions to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Financial Institutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st.

Financial Institutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FISI opened at $34.46 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.17. Financial Institutions has a fifty-two week low of $20.97 and a fifty-two week high of $35.47. The company has a market capitalization of $693.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $64.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.99 million. Financial Institutions had a net margin of 19.81% and a return on equity of 12.75%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Financial Institutions will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Financial Institutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Financial Institutions’s payout ratio is presently 34.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Financial Institutions

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

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.