Bailard Inc. Makes New $615,000 Investment in Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI)

Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 22,530 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $615,000. Bailard Inc. owned about 0.15% of Financial Institutions as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FISI. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,732 shares of the bank's stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Financial Institutions by 119.3% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,572 shares of the bank's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,399 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments bought a new position in Financial Institutions during the third quarter valued at about $384,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Financial Institutions during the third quarter valued at about $513,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Financial Institutions by 5.3% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 66,450 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,692,000 after acquiring an additional 3,350 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.45% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FISI has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Financial Institutions from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Financial Institutions from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $29.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Financial Institutions in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Financial Institutions in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

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Financial Institutions Price Performance

Shares of FISI stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $26.93. The company had a trading volume of 181,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 74,152. Financial Institutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.29 and a 12 month high of $29.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $416.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.57 and a beta of 0.86. The firm's fifty day moving average is $27.43 and its 200 day moving average is $26.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.20). Financial Institutions had a negative net margin of 6.69% and a positive return on equity of 11.12%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Financial Institutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Financial Institutions's dividend payout ratio is currently -85.52%.

Insider Activity

In other Financial Institutions news, Director Robert N. Latella bought 4,000 shares of Financial Institutions stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $100,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 16,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $400,000. The trade was a 33.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.68% of the company's stock.

About Financial Institutions

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.