Short Interest in Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) Grows By 41.7%

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 56,100 shares, an increase of 41.7% from the May 31st total of 39,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 48,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Financial Institutions Stock Down 1.7 %

Financial Institutions stock traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $19.00. 57,252 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 51,969. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Financial Institutions has a twelve month low of $15.22 and a twelve month high of $23.11. The company has a market cap of $293.55 million, a P/E ratio of 7.57 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.89 and a 200-day moving average of $18.95.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The bank reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.55). Financial Institutions had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 9.66%. The company had revenue of $50.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.48 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Financial Institutions will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Financial Institutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.32%. Financial Institutions’s payout ratio is 47.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Financial Institutions during the first quarter worth $98,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 298,398 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,615,000 after acquiring an additional 64,680 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 784,928 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,772,000 after acquiring an additional 16,462 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 58,600 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 4,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Financial Institutions during the first quarter worth approximately $433,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FISI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price objective (down previously from $23.00) on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Financial Institutions currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.67.

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.