22,530 Shares in Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) Acquired by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. acquired a new stake in Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 22,530 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $615,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FISI. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Financial Institutions during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 119.3% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,572 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 1,399 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,418 shares of the bank’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. acquired a new position in Financial Institutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $218,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Financial Institutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $224,000. 60.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Financial Institutions Stock Down 2.7 %

Financial Institutions stock opened at $27.00 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.49. Financial Institutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.29 and a 1-year high of $29.79. The company has a market cap of $417.80 million, a PE ratio of -18.62 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.54 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.59%. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -85.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Financial Institutions

In other news, Director Robert N. Latella acquired 4,000 shares of Financial Institutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 16,000 shares in the company, valued at $400,000. This trade represents a 33.33 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Financial Institutions 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.