Prudential Financial Inc. Boosts Stake in Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI)

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 187,448 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,400 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Financial Institutions were worth $5,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,196 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Financial Institutions by 0.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 124,428 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Financial Institutions by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,418 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Financial Institutions in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 59,725 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,521,000 after buying an additional 1,137 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on FISI shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Financial Institutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Financial Institutions in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Financial Institutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $29.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Financial Institutions in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company.

Financial Institutions Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ FISI opened at $24.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $501.15 million, a P/E ratio of -17.21 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.59. Financial Institutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.29 and a 1 year high of $29.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.20). Financial Institutions had a positive return on equity of 11.12% and a negative net margin of 6.69%. Research analysts anticipate that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Financial Institutions’s payout ratio is currently -85.52%.

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.