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what it is
It runs Five Star Bank, taking local deposits and turning them into business, farm, and home loans across New York.
how it gets paid
Last year L Institutions made $333M in revenue. commercial real estate loans was the main engine at $93M, or 28% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 6.3% last year. The quarter looked normal again after 2024's ugly reset.
what just happened
FISI reported Q4 2025 EPS of $0.96 on $64.1M of revenue, ahead of forecasts cited in the company earnings report.
At a glance
B+ balance sheet — decent shape, but not bulletproof
20/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
8.9x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
4.2% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
-$2.75 fy2024 eps est
xvary composite: 55/100 — below average
What they do
It runs Five Star Bank, taking local deposits and turning them into business, farm, and home loans across New York.
Five Star Bank has 48 full-service offices across western and central New York as of September 30, 2025. Deposits mean customer money parked at the bank → plain English: a local funding base → so what: FISI can lend into the same towns where your business, farm, or municipality already banks. Big banks have bigger budgets; FISI has local relationships in one region where branch access still matters.
How they make money
$333M
annual revenue · their business grew +6.3% last year
commercial real estate loans
$93M
commercial and industrial loans
$80M
residential mortgage and home equity
$67M
deposit service and fee income
$53M
agricultural and municipal banking
$40M
The products that matter
community banking franchise
Five Star Bank
$5.21B deposits · $6.27B assets
this is the core business. those $5.21B in deposits fund a balance sheet with $6.27B in assets, which is where the bank earns its spread.
funding base
investment and advisory services
Wealth management
~25% of mix
it supports the roughly 25% of revenue mix that is not net interest income. that matters because fee revenue is at least some diversification when lending margins get squeezed.
fee income
Key numbers
-$2.75
2024 EPS
EPS means earnings per share → plain English: profit tied to each share you own → so what: FISI went from $3.15 in 2023 to a loss in 2024.
8.9x
trailing p/e
P/E means price-to-earnings → plain English: how much you pay for each dollar of profit → so what: the market is pricing FISI like a bank with baggage.
4.2%
dividend yield
Dividend yield means annual cash payout as a share of stock price → plain English: your income stream → so what: you are being paid to wait, if the payout holds.
$125M
long-term debt
Long-term debt equals 17% of capital → plain English: leverage exists but does not dominate the balance sheet → so what: debt is manageable unless earnings stay weak.
Financial health
B+
strength
- balance sheet grade B+ — solid but not elite
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 70 / 100
- long-term debt $125M (17% of capital)
B+ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for FISI right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
FISI reported Q4 2025 EPS of $0.96 on $64.1M of revenue, ahead of forecasts cited in the company earnings report.
The quarter looked normal again after 2024's ugly reset. That matters because the reported 2024 quarterly history included a -$4.02 Q4 result, while the latest company report showed profitability back at $19.6M for the quarter.
$64.1M
revenue
$0.96
eps
$19.6M
net income
the number that mattered
$0.96 in EPS mattered most because it showed the bank could still produce normal quarterly profits after a 2024 full-year loss of -$2.75 per share.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the top risk for Financial Institutions is net interest margin pressure at Five Star Bank.
high
Persistent earnings decline
EPS has fallen 31% annually over the last five years. one better quarter does not cancel that history.
if profitability keeps slipping, the low multiple is not a bargain — it's the correct label.
high
Net interest margin pressure
roughly 75% of the income mix comes from net interest income. when deposit costs rise or loan yields lag, the core engine gets squeezed fast.
this is the risk with the cleanest line to earnings, dividend coverage, and sentiment.
med
Fee income is not big enough to save the story
non-interest income is about 25% of the mix. that's useful diversification, but not enough to fully offset a bad spread environment.
if lending economics weaken, wealth management softens the hit. it does not remove it.
med
Single-region exposure
the business is concentrated in New York. there is no national diversification story here.
regional pressure can hit funding, credit quality, and growth at the same time.
roughly 75% of the income mix runs through net interest income, so even a modest squeeze there can outweigh the smaller fee business and pressure the case for both the 4.2% yield and the 8.9x multiple.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
earnings
Q1 2026 earnings report
estimated for april 27–29, 2026. you want to see whether the $0.96 EPS quarter was repeatable, not decorative.
metric
Net interest income trend
roughly 75% of the mix comes from spread income. if that softens, most of the thesis softens with it.
funding
Deposit retention and growth
the bank has $5.21B in deposits. for a lender this size, keeping funding sticky matters as much as winning new loans.
risk
Dividend versus earnings quality
the 4.2% yield helps the story. if profitability slips again, investors will start asking whether the payout is confidence or theater.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
20 / 100
low predictability means the earnings line has been messy. in human-speak: analysts do not see this as a smooth, easy-to-model bank.
risk rank
3
risk rank 3 means it sits around the middle of the pack on safety. not fragile, not exactly a bunker either.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for FISI is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$32
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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