Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) Short Interest Update

Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 224,700 shares, a drop of 12.2% from the October 15th total of 255,900 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 39,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.7 days.

Investar Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ISTR traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $23.33. The company had a trading volume of 13,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,694. The stock has a market cap of $229.33 million, a PE ratio of 13.18 and a beta of 0.76. Investar has a 1-year low of $9.83 and a 1-year high of $24.26. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $20.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.79. 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 (NASDAQ:ISTR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.12. Investar had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 11.35%. The company had revenue of $40.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.07 million. Research analysts forecast that Investar will post 1.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.105 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is a boost from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Investar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut Investar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Investar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ISTR. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Investar during the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Investar by 129.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Investar by 2,810.1% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 10,257 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Investar in the 1st quarter worth about $185,000. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in Investar during the third quarter worth $272,000. Institutional investors own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

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.