Maltese Capital Management LLC Sells 66,000 Shares of Financial Institutions, Inc. $FISI

Maltese Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) by 31.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 145,000 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 66,000 shares during the period. Maltese Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.72% of Financial Institutions worth $4,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 34.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 736,825 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,042,000 after purchasing an additional 187,298 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Financial Institutions by 102.9% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 184,618 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,022,000 after acquiring an additional 93,626 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in Financial Institutions by 99.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 175,427 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,772,000 after acquiring an additional 87,653 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Financial Institutions by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,095,428 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,796,000 after acquiring an additional 40,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 10,367.1% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 37,577 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,022,000 after acquiring an additional 37,218 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FISI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Financial Institutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Financial Institutions from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Financial Institutions Trading Down 2.0%

FISI opened at $37.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $731.48 million, a P/E ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Financial Institutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.41 and a 12 month high of $38.47. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.11.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $62.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.76 million. Financial Institutions had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 20.85%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Financial Institutions’s payout ratio is 33.33%.

Financial Institutions Company 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.