Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

Separately, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Investar in a report on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $21.00 price target for the company.

Investar Stock Performance

Shares of ISTR opened at $17.37 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $170.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.51 and a beta of 0.81. 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 1 year low of $14.60 and a 1 year high of $24.81. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.29.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Investar will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Investar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Investar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Investar by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 341,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,497,000 after purchasing an additional 23,895 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Investar by 42.0% during the 4th 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. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised 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 valued at $4,196,000 after buying an additional 68,027 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Investar by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 145,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,204,000 after buying an additional 2,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhino Investment Partners Inc grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 115,387 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.