Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires 13,400 Shares of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI)

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI - Free Report) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 306,900 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 13,400 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 1.98% of Financial Institutions worth $8,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PL Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Financial Institutions by 666.8% during the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,583,625 shares of the bank's stock valued at $370,697,000 after acquiring an additional 11,812,109 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Financial Institutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $18,294,000. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. bought a new position in Financial Institutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,140,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Financial Institutions by 1,409.9% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 231,010 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,304,000 after purchasing an additional 215,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 38.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 424,825 shares of the bank's stock valued at $11,593,000 after purchasing an additional 117,142 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.45% of the company's stock.

Financial Institutions Stock Up 3.5 %

NASDAQ:FISI traded up $0.77 on Tuesday, reaching $23.06. 68,216 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 98,262. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $25.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.25. The company has a market capitalization of $463.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.95 and a beta of 0.68. Financial Institutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.81 and a 12 month high of $29.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts predict that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.38%. This is a positive change from Financial Institutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Financial Institutions's dividend payout ratio is currently -85.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FISI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Financial Institutions from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Financial Institutions from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $29.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th.

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.