Empowered Funds LLC Invests $2.09 Million in Investar Holding Corporation $ISTR

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 69,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,086,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Investar by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 230,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,455,000 after acquiring an additional 2,639 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Investar by 12.8% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Investar by 6.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 58,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 3,757 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Investar by 46.9% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 17,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 5,738 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Investar by 72.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 58,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 24,451 shares during the period. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Investar Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of ISTR opened at $30.71 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $29.98 and its 200 day moving average is $28.88. The company has a market capitalization of $423.18 million, a PE ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 0.45. Investar Holding Corporation has a 12-month low of $21.43 and a 12-month high of $31.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.04. Investar had a return on equity of 11.65% and a net margin of 17.55%.The company had revenue of $36.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.35 million. Research analysts expect that Investar Holding Corporation will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This is an increase from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Investar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ISTR. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Investar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of Investar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Investar in a report on Thursday, August 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.50.

Investar Company Profile

Investar Holdings, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, operating through its primary subsidiary, Investar Bank. The company delivers commercial and consumer banking products across southeastern Louisiana and into select Texas markets, focusing on relationship-driven service. Investar Bank’s offerings include deposit accounts, lending solutions, online and mobile banking, and treasury management services.

Its lending portfolio encompasses commercial real estate financing, construction and development loans, commercial and industrial credits, agricultural loans, and residential mortgage originations.