Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday morning.

Separately, Piper Sandler upgraded Investar from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Investar Price Performance

Investar stock opened at $19.54 on Friday. 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 has a 52 week low of $14.60 and a 52 week high of $24.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.37 million, a P/E ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $17.54 and a 200-day moving average of $19.91.

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

Investar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Investar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Investar

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ISTR. Rhino Investment Partners Inc raised its position in shares of Investar by 383.8% during the fourth quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 145,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,194,000 after acquiring an additional 115,387 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Investar by 55.3% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 191,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,196,000 after purchasing an additional 68,027 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Investar by 42.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 228,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,026,000 after purchasing an additional 67,695 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in Investar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $651,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Investar by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 98,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 27,254 shares in the last quarter. 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.