Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) by 2.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 354,685 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 7,045 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Financial Institutions were worth $9,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FISI. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 119.3% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,572 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,399 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Financial Institutions during the third quarter valued at about $164,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Financial Institutions by 50.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,172 shares of the bank’s stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 2,734 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Financial Institutions by 23.0% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,837 shares of the bank’s stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 2,026 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebrook Private Inc. purchased a new position in Financial Institutions in the third quarter valued at about $218,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FISI shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Financial Institutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Financial Institutions from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Financial Institutions in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert N. Latella purchased 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $400,000. This represents a 33.33 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Financial Institutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ FISI opened at $27.29 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $422.29 million, a P/E ratio of 8.58 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $26.74 and its 200-day moving average is $24.60. Financial Institutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.29 and a 12-month high of $29.34.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.08. Financial Institutions had a net margin of 13.72% and a return on equity of 11.32%. The business had revenue of $50.12 million for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Financial Institutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.40%. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.74%.

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.