First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK) Shares Sold by Empower Advisory Group LLC

Key Points

• Empower Advisory Group LLC reduced its holdings in First Interstate BancSystem by 70%, owning 8,462 shares worth $242,000 after selling 19,699 shares during the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds have increased their stakes, with GAMMA Investing LLC lifting its position by 2,336.8% during the same quarter.
• First Interstate BancSystem reported earnings of $0.69 per share, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.47, equating to a 6.5% yield.

Empower Advisory Group LLC trimmed its holdings in First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIBK - Free Report) by 70.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,462 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 19,699 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC's holdings in First Interstate BancSystem were worth $242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in First Interstate BancSystem during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. JNBA Financial Advisors bought a new position in First Interstate BancSystem during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in First Interstate BancSystem by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,485 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First Interstate BancSystem by 826.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 2,231 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in First Interstate BancSystem by 1,258.8% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 4,494 shares during the period. 88.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at First Interstate BancSystem

In related news, major shareholder Susan Scott Heyneman Trust, Su sold 55,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.86, for a total transaction of $1,532,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 529,256 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,745,072.16. This represents a 9.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company's stock.

First Interstate BancSystem Stock Up 1.5%

FIBK stock traded up $0.44 during trading on Friday, hitting $29.24. 840,420 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 844,109. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.95 and a 1 year high of $36.77.

First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ:FIBK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.12. First Interstate BancSystem had a net margin of 16.04% and a return on equity of 6.82%. The company had revenue of $248.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $253.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

First Interstate BancSystem Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. First Interstate BancSystem's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FIBK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on First Interstate BancSystem from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Interstate BancSystem from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Barclays upgraded First Interstate BancSystem from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $28.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of First Interstate BancSystem from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and set a $32.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.43.

First Interstate BancSystem Profile

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc operates as the bank holding company for First Interstate Bank that provides range of banking products and services in the United States. It offers various traditional depository products, including checking, savings, and time deposits; and repurchase agreements primarily for commercial and municipal depositors.