Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Buy" Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

Financial Institutions Stock Performance

FISI traded down $0.47 during trading on Friday, reaching $27.12. 81,546 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 117,154. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $26.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Financial Institutions has a fifty-two week low of $20.21 and a fifty-two week high of $29.79. The company has a market capitalization of $545.38 million, a P/E ratio of -36.21 and a beta of 0.71.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $57.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $57.14 million. Financial Institutions had a positive return on equity of 12.69% and a negative net margin of 2.63%. As a group, analysts predict that Financial Institutions will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Financial Institutions's payout ratio is currently -165.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Financial Institutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 153.3% in the 1st quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,261,010 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,475,000 after acquiring an additional 763,259 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Financial Institutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $18,294,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new position in Financial Institutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $11,168,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Financial Institutions in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,320,000. Finally, Fourthstone LLC lifted its stake in Financial Institutions by 1,463.9% in the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 318,254 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,685,000 after purchasing an additional 297,904 shares in the last quarter. 60.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.