Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Board Initiates Stock Buyback Program

Key Points

• Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) has initiated a stock repurchase program aimed at buying back up to $1.00 million worth of shares, indicating the board's belief that the stock may be undervalued.
• The company reported earnings of $0.85 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, along with a quarterly dividend of $0.31 set to be paid on October 2nd.
• Analyst ratings have been mixed, with Wall Street Zen downgrading the stock from "buy" to "hold," while the stock currently holds an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $33.00.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI - Get Free Report) declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 22nd, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $1.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 0.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Financial Institutions Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of FISI traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $26.70. The company had a trading volume of 90,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 104,862. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $537.47 million, a PE ratio of -17.57 and a beta of 0.74. The company's fifty day moving average price is $26.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.70. Financial Institutions has a one year low of $20.97 and a one year high of $29.78.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $59.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.86 million. Financial Institutions had a positive return on equity of 10.44% and a negative net margin of 4.96%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Financial Institutions will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Financial Institutions's payout ratio is -81.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut Financial Institutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Financial Institutions currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.00.

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.

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