Does Financial Institutions, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:FISI) CEO Pay Compare Well With Peers?

Marty Birmingham has been the CEO of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) since 2013. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

See our latest analysis for Financial Institutions

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

According to our data, Financial Institutions, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$459m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$1.1m over 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$200m to US$800m, and the median CEO total compensation was US$1.8m.

Most shareholders would consider it a positive that Marty Birmingham takes less total compensation than the CEOs of most similar size companies, leaving more for shareholders. However, before we heap on the praise, we should delve deeper to understand business performance.

You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Financial Institutions, below.

Is Financial Institutions, Inc. Growing?

Over the last three years Financial Institutions, Inc. has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 11% per year (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 7.9% over the last year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. It's also good to see modest revenue growth, suggesting the underlying business is healthy. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has Financial Institutions, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 11% over three years, some Financial Institutions, Inc. shareholders would surely be feeling negative emotions. It therefore might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.

In Summary...

Financial Institutions, Inc. is currently paying its CEO below what is normal for companies of its size.

Considering the underlying business is growing earnings, this would suggest the pay is modest. Unfortunately, some shareholders may be disappointed with their returns, given the company's performance over the last three years. We're not critical of the remuneration Marty Birmingham receives, but it would be good to see improved returns to shareholders before the remuneration grows too much. When I see fairly low remuneration, combined with earnings per share growth, but without big share price gains, it makes me want to research the potential for future gains. Whatever your view on compensation, you might want to check if insiders are buying or selling Financial Institutions shares (free trial).

Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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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