Does Financial Institutions, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:FISI) CEO Pay Reflect Performance?

Marty Birmingham became the CEO of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) in 2013. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.

Check out our latest analysis for Financial Institutions

How Does Marty Birmingham's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

Our data indicates that Financial Institutions, Inc. is worth US$247m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$1.1m for the year to December 2018. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at US$560k. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from US$100m to US$400m, and the median CEO total compensation was US$1.5m.

Now let's take a look at the pay mix on an industry and company level to gain a better understanding of where Financial Institutions stands. Speaking on an industry level, we can see that nearly 44% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 56% is other remuneration. Financial Institutions is largely mirroring the industry average when it comes to the share a salary enjoys in overall compensation

So Marty Birmingham receives a similar amount to the median CEO pay, amongst the companies we looked at. This doesn't tell us a whole lot on its own, but looking at the performance of the actual business will give us useful context. The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at Financial Institutions has changed from year to year.

Is Financial Institutions, Inc. Growing?

Over the last three years Financial Institutions, Inc. has seen earnings per share (EPS) move in a positive direction by an average of 11% per year (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 7.9%.

This shows that the company has improved itself over the last few years. Good news for shareholders. It's also good to see modest revenue growth, suggesting the underlying business is healthy. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has Financial Institutions, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

With a three year total loss of 46%, Financial Institutions, Inc. would certainly have some dissatisfied shareholders. It therefore might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.

In Summary...

Remuneration for Marty Birmingham is close enough to the median pay for a CEO of a similar sized company .

We like that the company is growing EPS, but we find the returns over the last three years to be lacking. Considering the improvement in earnings per share, one could argue that the CEO pay is appropriate, albeit not too low. CEO compensation is an important area to keep your eyes on, but we've also identified 2 warning signs for Financial Institutions (1 can't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you want to buy a stock that is better than Financial Institutions, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

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