225,000 Shares in Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) Purchased by Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.

Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. acquired a new stake in Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 225,000 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $6,140,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FISI. PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 408.0% during the third quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,771,516 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,121,000 after buying an additional 1,422,765 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Financial Institutions by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 354,685 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,036,000 after acquiring an additional 7,045 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 352,126 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,887 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 6.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 283,707 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,309,000 after purchasing an additional 17,395 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Financial Institutions during the third quarter valued at about $4,706,000. 60.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Financial Institutions Stock Performance

Shares of FISI opened at $28.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $27.26 and its 200-day moving average is $26.09. Financial Institutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.29 and a 12-month high of $29.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $446.93 million, a P/E ratio of -19.92 and a beta of 0.90.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.20). Financial Institutions had a positive return on equity of 11.12% and a negative net margin of 6.69%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.29%. Financial Institutions’s payout ratio is -82.76%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert N. Latella purchased 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $400,000. The trade was a 33.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FISI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Financial Institutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler started coverage on Financial Institutions in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Financial Institutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $29.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

Financial Institutions Company Profile

Financial Institutions, Inc operates as a holding company for the Five Star Bank, a chartered bank that provides banking and financial services to individuals, municipalities, and businesses in New York. The company provides checking and savings account programs, including money market accounts, certificates of deposit, sweep investments, and individual retirement and other qualified plan accounts, as well as NOW accounts.