Trexquant Investment LP Buys 5,309 Shares of Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR)

Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in shares of Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) by 29.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,309 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.24% of Investar worth $511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,706 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Investar by 851.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 14,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 12,815 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Investar by 5.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 108,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,117,000 after acquiring an additional 5,774 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 53,434 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,224 shares during the period. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Investar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Investar in a report on Friday, February 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company.

Investar Stock Down 0.8 %

ISTR stock opened at $15.64 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.68 million, a PE ratio of 7.67 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Investar Holding Co. has a twelve month low of $14.60 and a twelve month high of $24.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $17.86 and its 200-day moving average is $20.10.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Investar Holding Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Investar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.105 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Investar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.59%.

Investar Company Profile

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.