StockNews.com Upgrades Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) to "Hold"

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other research firms also recently commented on FISI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Financial Institutions from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $29.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th.

Financial Institutions Stock Performance

Financial Institutions stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $27.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,239. Financial Institutions has a twelve month low of $16.81 and a twelve month high of $29.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $545.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.70 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.24.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. Financial Institutions had a positive return on equity of 11.12% and a negative net margin of 6.69%. The firm had revenue of $57.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.14 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Financial Institutions will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Financial Institutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Financial Institutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $318,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 112,129 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,060,000 after buying an additional 14,570 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 1,409.9% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 231,010 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,304,000 after buying an additional 215,710 shares during the period. PL Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 666.8% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,583,625 shares of the bank's stock valued at $370,697,000 after acquiring an additional 11,812,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Financial Institutions by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 69,862 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,907,000 after acquiring an additional 3,412 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.