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

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $31.42 and last traded at $31.2170, with a volume of 11772 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Financial Institutions from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Financial Institutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Financial Institutions has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.33.

Financial Institutions Trading Up 0.9%

The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $626.65 million, a PE ratio of -22.80 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $28.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.10.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The bank reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $63.85 million during the quarter. Financial Institutions had a negative net margin of 2.93% and a positive return on equity of 11.10%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently -90.51%.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Financial Institutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 3.4% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of 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 period. Palisades Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 0.4% during the 3rd 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 lifted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,922 shares of the bank’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cutler Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Financial Institutions by 1.9% in the 2nd 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 period. Institutional investors own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

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.