Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

Separately, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Investar in a research report on Friday, February 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock.

Investar Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of Investar stock opened at $17.73 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.29. Investar has a 52-week low of $14.60 and a 52-week high of $24.81. The firm has a market cap of $174.21 million, a PE ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, analysts predict that Investar will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Investar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Investar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ISTR. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Investar by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 51,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,546 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Investar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $572,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Investar by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 26,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $519,000 after acquiring an additional 1,706 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Investar by 851.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 14,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 12,815 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Investar by 129.1% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059 shares during the period. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.