AlphaQuest LLC Takes Position in Financial Institutions, Inc. $FISI

AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,335 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $444,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fourthstone LLC boosted its stake in Financial Institutions by 54.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 846,661 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,742,000 after purchasing an additional 299,574 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Financial Institutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,069,000. PL Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 8.0% during the second quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,361,510 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,964,000 after buying an additional 100,500 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 143.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 52,028 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,336,000 after buying an additional 30,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Financial Institutions by 6.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 477,865 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,274,000 after buying an additional 27,770 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

Financial Institutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ FISI opened at $35.14 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $707.37 million, a PE ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. Financial Institutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.97 and a 52-week high of $35.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.02.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. Financial Institutions had a net margin of 19.81% and a return on equity of 12.75%. The firm had revenue of $64.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.99 million. On average, research analysts predict that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Financial Institutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio is 34.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on FISI. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Financial Institutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Financial Institutions from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective (up previously from $34.00) on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Financial Institutions to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.33.

Financial Institutions Profile

Financial Institutions, Inc (NASDAQ: FISI) is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide tax-advantaged income to shareholders. The company invests primarily in investment-grade municipal obligations issued by states, municipalities and government agencies across the United States. By focusing on high-credit-quality bonds, Financial Institutions aims to deliver current income that is exempt from federal income tax.

In constructing its portfolio, the company may also utilize money market instruments and repurchase agreements to manage liquidity and facilitate efficient settlement.