Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Grows Stake in First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in shares of First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) by 26.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 153,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 32,102 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in First Interstate BancSystem were worth $4,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FIBK. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Interstate BancSystem by 132.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in First Interstate BancSystem by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in First Interstate BancSystem during the third quarter worth approximately $81,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in First Interstate BancSystem by 22.0% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in First Interstate BancSystem by 99.6% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 2,430 shares during the last quarter. 88.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FIBK shares. TheStreet cut First Interstate BancSystem from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on First Interstate BancSystem from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on First Interstate BancSystem in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

Insider Transactions at First Interstate BancSystem

In other news, EVP Karlyn M. Knieriem sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.76, for a total transaction of $77,604.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $551,229.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Karlyn M. Knieriem sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.76, for a total value of $77,604.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $551,229.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kristina Robbins sold 2,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.83, for a total transaction of $69,999.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,047 shares in the company, valued at $233,684.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,531 shares of company stock valued at $197,645 in the last ninety days. 6.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Interstate BancSystem Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ FIBK opened at $26.57 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.66. First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.81 and a 52-week high of $32.54.

First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ:FIBK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $252.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $254.50 million. First Interstate BancSystem had a return on equity of 8.47% and a net margin of 18.04%. Sell-side analysts expect that First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

First Interstate BancSystem Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This is a positive change from First Interstate BancSystem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. First Interstate BancSystem’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.81%.

First Interstate BancSystem Company Profile

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc operates as the bank holding company for First Interstate Bank that provides range of banking products and services in the United States. It offers various traditional depository products, including checking, savings, and time deposits; and repurchase agreements primarily for commercial and municipal depositors.