Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by five brokerages currently covering the firm, according to Marketbeat.com. Among these analysts, four have issued a hold recommendation, while one has rated the stock as a buy. The average target price for FISI over the next year stands at approximately $33.67.
Multiple recent analyst reports have addressed the stock’s performance. On Wednesday, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a target price of $34.00 for Financial Institutions. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective from $34.00 to $35.00 and designated the stock as “outperform” in a report dated October 27. In contrast, Weiss Ratings maintained a “hold (c-)” rating on Monday, while Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a “buy” to a “hold” in a note released on Saturday. Additionally, Zacks Research raised their rating to “hold” in a report published on Thursday.
Financial Performance and Dividend Announcement
Financial Institutions last disclosed its quarterly earnings on November 3, reporting earnings per share (EPS) of $0.99. The bank achieved a return on equity of 11.10%, although it recorded a negative net margin of 2.93%. The firm generated revenue of $63.85 million during the quarter, and analysts forecast an average EPS of 3.3 for the current year.
In a separate announcement, the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31, scheduled for payment on January 2, 2024. Shareholders on record as of December 15 will be eligible for this dividend, which translates to an annualized dividend of $1.24 and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is also set for December 15. Currently, Financial Institutions maintains a dividend payout ratio of -90.51%.
Furthermore, on September 22, the Board of Directors initiated a share repurchase program, allowing the company to buy back up to $1.00 million in shares. This program permits the bank to repurchase up to 0.2% of its stock through open market transactions, a move often interpreted as management’s belief that the stock is undervalued.
Changes in Institutional Holdings
Recent trading activity indicates that large investors are adjusting their positions in Financial Institutions. Notably, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in the company by 11.5% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 106,110 shares to hold a total of 1,031,395 shares valued at approximately $25.74 million. Similarly, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. expanded its holdings by 27.9%, now owning 160,338 shares worth around $4.00 million after adding 35,015 shares.
Additionally, Nuveen LLC and Quantbot Technologies LP both acquired new positions in Financial Institutions during the first quarter, valued at $1.18 million and $413,000, respectively. Cutler Capital Management LLC also increased its stake by 2.8% during the same period, now owning 47,025 shares valued at $1.17 million. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds currently hold 60.45% of the company’s stock.
Financial Institutions, Inc. operates as a closed-end management investment company, primarily focusing on providing tax-advantaged income to shareholders through investments in high-credit-quality municipal obligations across the United States. The company also employs money market instruments and repurchase agreements to manage liquidity effectively.
