Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Share Price Passes Below 50-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR)’s stock price crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $28.20 and traded as low as $27.63. Investar shares last traded at $27.78, with a volume of 83,224 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Investar from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research cut Investar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Investar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.00.

Investar Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $381.98 million, a PE ratio of 12.98 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $28.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.17.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $23.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.35 million. Investar had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 14.92%. Research analysts expect that Investar Holding Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Investar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Investar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John J. D’angelo sold 26,163 shares of Investar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.01, for a total transaction of $732,825.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 242,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,799,427.50. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 8.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Investar by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Investar by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 58,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after acquiring an additional 4,824 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in Investar by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 130,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,490,000 after acquiring an additional 4,824 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Investar by 48.3% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $677,000 after acquiring an additional 8,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in Investar by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 2,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Investar

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.