Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Given Sell (D+) Rating at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Financial Institutions' stock has been reissued a "sell (D+)" rating by Weiss Ratings, while Wall Street Zen downgraded it from a "buy" to a "hold" rating.
• The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing the $0.78 consensus estimate, although revenue slightly missed expectations.
• A share buyback program has been approved, allowing Financial Institutions to repurchase $1.00 million in shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d+)" rating reissued by investment analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

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

Financial Institutions Price Performance

Shares of FISI opened at $27.04 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $26.67 and its 200-day moving average is $25.82. Financial Institutions has a one year low of $20.97 and a one year high of $29.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $544.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.79 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87.

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

Financial Institutions announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, September 22nd that allows the company to buyback $1.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 0.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Financial Institutions

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 6,068.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,051 shares of the bank's stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 14,807 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 24,489 shares of the bank's stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 138,103 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,447,000 after buying an additional 11,452 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,222 shares of the bank's stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,000 shares of the bank's stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 3,355 shares during the last quarter. 60.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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