Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Upgrades Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) to “Outperform”

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) was upgraded by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $34.00 price objective on the bank’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $29.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 23.05% from the company’s current price.

FISI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler began coverage on Financial Institutions in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Financial Institutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Financial Institutions in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Financial Institutions Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FISI opened at $27.63 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.90. The stock has a market cap of $427.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.06 and a beta of 0.90. Financial Institutions has a 52-week low of $16.29 and a 52-week high of $29.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.54 EPS 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%. Equities analysts predict that Financial Institutions will post 3.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Financial Institutions

In other news, Director Robert N. Latella purchased 4,000 shares of Financial Institutions stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased 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 in the company, valued at $400,000. This represents a 33.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Financial Institutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FISI. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new stake in shares of Financial Institutions during the 2nd quarter worth about $466,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 147.3% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 63,213 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 37,653 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Financial Institutions in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $164,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 50.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,172 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 2,734 shares during the period. Finally, Courier Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 350,239 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,921,000 after acquiring an additional 8,064 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

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.