Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Price Target Raised to $27.00

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) had its target price raised by Piper Sandler from $22.00 to $27.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Investar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th.

Investar Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of ISTR stock opened at $22.38 on Wednesday. Investar has a 12-month low of $14.91 and a 12-month high of $24.81. The company has a market capitalization of $220.22 million, a P/E ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last announced 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 13.99% and a return on equity of 8.60%. The company had revenue of $20.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.90 million. Research analysts forecast that Investar will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This is a boost from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Investar’s payout ratio is currently 20.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Investar

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Investar by 26.4% during the first quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 3,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Investar by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Investar by 3.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Investar by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 17,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Investar by 3,194.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,725 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.17% of the company’s 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.