Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

Separately, Piper Sandler raised Investar from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Investar Stock Up 2.3 %

ISTR stock opened at $19.35 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $17.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.95. 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 has a 12-month low of $14.60 and a 12-month high of $24.81. The company has a market cap of $190.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 0.52.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.29. Investar had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 12.81%. The firm had revenue of $20.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.90 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Investar will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Investar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Investar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Investar

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Investar by 25.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 26,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 5,224 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Investar by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 108,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,117,000 after buying an additional 5,774 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Investar by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 54,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 2,599 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Investar by 46.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 5,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Investar by 42.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 228,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,026,000 after buying an additional 67,695 shares in the last quarter. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.