Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on FISI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Financial Institutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Monday. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Financial Institutions in a report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Financial Institutions in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company.

Financial Institutions Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Financial Institutions stock traded up $0.35 during trading on Monday, hitting $26.72. 233,411 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 149,396. The stock has a market cap of $413.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.43 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $27.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.83. Financial Institutions has a 12-month low of $16.29 and a 12-month high of $29.34.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.20). Financial Institutions had a positive return on equity of 11.12% and a negative net margin of 6.69%. As a group, analysts forecast that Financial Institutions will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Financial Institutions

In other news, Director Robert N. Latella bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $400,000. This trade represents a 33.33 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FISI. PL Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 408.0% in the third quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,771,516 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422,765 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Financial Institutions by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 354,685 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,036,000 after acquiring an additional 7,045 shares in the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 352,126 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,887 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Financial Institutions by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 283,707 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,309,000 after acquiring an additional 17,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. purchased a new position in Financial Institutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,140,000. 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.