Rhino Investment Partners Inc Grows Position in Financial Institutions, Inc. $FISI

Key Points

• Rhino Investment Partners Inc increased its stake in Financial Institutions, Inc. by 19.9% in Q1, bringing their total holdings to 313,082 shares, valued at approximately $7.8 million.
• Financial Institutions, Inc. reported quarterly earnings of $0.85 EPS, exceeding estimates of $0.78, but faced a negative net margin of 4.96% amid a revenue performance closely matching expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, yielding 4.8%, despite a negative dividend payout ratio of -81.58%.

Rhino Investment Partners Inc increased its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI - Free Report) by 19.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 313,082 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 52,031 shares during the period. Financial Institutions comprises approximately 1.9% of Rhino Investment Partners Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Rhino Investment Partners Inc owned 1.56% of Financial Institutions worth $7,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 763,259 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,031,395 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,744,000 after acquiring an additional 106,110 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 971,659 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,516,000 after acquiring an additional 14,733 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Financial Institutions during the 4th quarter valued at $18,294,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Financial Institutions during the 4th quarter valued at $11,168,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.45% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Financial Institutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FISI traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $27.64. The company had a trading volume of 79,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 159,795. The company's 50 day moving average price is $26.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $556.29 million, a P/E ratio of -18.15 and a beta of 0.79. Financial Institutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.97 and a 52-week high of $29.78.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $59.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.86 million. Financial Institutions had a negative net margin of 4.96% and a positive return on equity of 10.44%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Financial Institutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -81.58%.

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.