Hovde Group Cuts Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Price Target to $20.00

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Hovde Group from $20.50 to $20.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Hovde Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 24.22% from the stock’s previous close.

Investar Price Performance

ISTR stock opened at $16.10 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $16.11 and a 200-day moving average of $14.26. Investar has a 12-month low of $9.07 and a 12-month high of $17.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $157.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 0.77.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.14. Investar had a net margin of 11.94% and a return on equity of 8.64%. The company had revenue of $20.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.84 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Investar will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Investar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ISTR. AJOVista LLC purchased a new position in shares of Investar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Investar by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 2,461 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Investar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $149,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Investar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $180,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Investar by 231.7% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 40,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 28,266 shares in the last quarter. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.