PL Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI)

PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) by 666.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,583,625 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,812,109 shares during the quarter. Financial Institutions makes up about 4.3% of PL Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. PL Capital Advisors LLC owned 87.81% of Financial Institutions worth $370,697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FISI. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. acquired a new stake in Financial Institutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,140,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 69,862 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after buying an additional 3,412 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Financial Institutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,418 shares of the bank’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Courier Capital LLC raised its stake in Financial Institutions by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 352,126 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,610,000 after acquiring an additional 1,887 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Financial Institutions

In other news, Director Robert N. Latella acquired 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.68% of the company’s stock.

Financial Institutions Trading Down 0.2 %

FISI stock opened at $28.16 on Wednesday. Financial Institutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.29 and a 52 week high of $29.78. The company has a market capitalization of $435.75 million, a PE ratio of -19.42 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.40%. This is an increase from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently -85.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on FISI. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Financial Institutions in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Financial Institutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Financial Institutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $34.00 in a 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.