Empowered Funds LLC Invests $4.25 Million in Financial Institutions, Inc. $FISI

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 109,154 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $4,254,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Financial Institutions by 3,150.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,170 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,134 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Financial Institutions by 31.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,290 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in Financial Institutions by 39.8% during the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,647 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Financial Institutions by 679.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,738 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 1,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in Financial Institutions by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 1,607 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on FISI. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price target (up from $38.00) on shares of Financial Institutions in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Financial Institutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Financial Institutions in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Financial Institutions from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Financial Institutions has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.00.

Financial Institutions Trading Down 1.1%

FISI opened at $40.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $798.65 million, a PE ratio of 10.05 and a beta of 0.63. Financial Institutions, Inc. has a one year low of $25.61 and a one year high of $42.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $40.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.17.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.11. Financial Institutions had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 21.78%.The company had revenue of $64.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.54 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 4.21 EPS for the current year.

Financial Institutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.76%.

Financial Institutions 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.