LSV Asset Management Decreases Position in Financial Institutions, Inc. $FISI

LSV Asset Management decreased its holdings in Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) by 29.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 167,500 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 68,537 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned about 0.83% of Financial Institutions worth $4,556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Financial Institutions by 12.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 97,206 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,426,000 after acquiring an additional 10,590 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Financial Institutions by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,333 shares of the bank’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 2,617 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Financial Institutions by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 74,841 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,868,000 after purchasing an additional 4,979 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Financial Institutions during the 1st quarter worth approximately $375,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Financial Institutions during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $470,000. 60.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Financial Institutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ FISI opened at $34.41 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $692.67 million, a P/E ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.34. 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 fifty-two week low of $20.97 and a fifty-two week high of $35.47.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $64.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.99 million. Financial Institutions had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 19.81%. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio is 34.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

About Financial Institutions

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.