Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) Shares Bought by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) by 42.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,445 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.43% of Investar worth $921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Investar by 25.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 26,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 5,224 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Investar by 5.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 108,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,117,000 after purchasing an additional 5,774 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Investar by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 54,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,599 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Investar by 46.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 5,190 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Investar by 49.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 161,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 53,434 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

Investar Price Performance

ISTR stock opened at $17.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $170.68 million, a PE ratio of 8.51 and a beta of 0.81. Investar Holding Co. has a 12-month low of $14.60 and a 12-month high of $24.81. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $18.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.29.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.26. Investar had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 12.81%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Investar Holding Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Investar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.105 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Investar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ISTR. StockNews.com upgraded Investar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler began coverage on Investar in a research report on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock.

About Investar

Investar Holding Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Investar Bank that provides a range of commercial banking products to individuals, professionals, and small to medium-sized businesses in south Louisiana, southeast Texas, and Alabama in the United States. The company offers various deposit products and services, such as savings, checking, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as various certificates of deposit; debit and credit cards; internet, mobile, and video banking services; and reciprocal deposit products.