Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI)’s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $31.76 and traded as high as $35.65. Financial Institutions shares last traded at $35.41, with a volume of 79,736 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on FISI. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Financial Institutions from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price target (up from $34.00) on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Financial Institutions from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Financial Institutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Financial Institutions has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.00.

Financial Institutions Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $32.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $697.22 million, a PE ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 0.63.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.12. Financial Institutions had a net margin of 20.85% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The company had revenue of $62.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.76 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Financial Institutions’s payout ratio is 33.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. PL Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,802,791 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,193,000 after buying an additional 27,905 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,095,428 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,796,000 after buying an additional 40,240 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 42.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,049,295 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,707,000 after buying an additional 312,470 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 972,043 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,299,000 after buying an additional 160,825 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 955,906 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,796,000 after buying an additional 4,801 shares during the period. 60.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Financial Institutions

Financial Institutions, Inc (NASDAQ: FISI) is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide tax-advantaged income to shareholders. The company invests primarily in investment-grade municipal obligations issued by states, municipalities and government agencies across the United States. By focusing on high-credit-quality bonds, Financial Institutions aims to deliver current income that is exempt from federal income tax.

In constructing its portfolio, the company may also utilize money market instruments and repurchase agreements to manage liquidity and facilitate efficient settlement.