Azora Capital LP Cuts Stake in Financial Institutions, Inc. $FISI

Key Points

• Azora Capital LP has reduced its stake in Financial Institutions, Inc. by 8.3%, now holding 208,819 shares valued at approximately $5.21 million.
• Financial Institutions, Inc. reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.85 for the latest quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.78.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31, which translates to an annualized yield of 4.5%, to be paid on October 2nd.

Azora Capital LP decreased its holdings in Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI - Free Report) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 208,819 shares of the bank's stock after selling 18,839 shares during the quarter. Azora Capital LP owned 1.04% of Financial Institutions worth $5,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FISI. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 105.7% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,229 shares of the bank's stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 8,854 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 138,103 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,447,000 after purchasing an additional 11,452 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 24,489 shares of the bank's stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 153.3% during the 1st quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,261,010 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,475,000 after purchasing an additional 763,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhino Investment Partners Inc increased its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 19.9% during the 1st quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 313,082 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,815,000 after purchasing an additional 52,031 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Financial Institutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.00.

Financial Institutions Price Performance

FISI stock traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $27.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 157,366. Financial Institutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.97 and a 12 month high of $29.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $551.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.06 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $26.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.83.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $59.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.86 million. Financial Institutions had a positive return on equity of 10.44% and a negative net margin of 4.96%. On average, analysts expect that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Financial Institutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Financial Institutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -81.58%.

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.