Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Investar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Weiss Ratings restated 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 issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.50.

Investar Stock Performance

Shares of ISTR stock opened at $31.10 on Friday. Investar has a 12 month low of $21.43 and a 12 month high of $31.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $428.56 million, a P/E ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $30.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.90.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.35 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Investar will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This is a positive change from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Investar’s payout ratio is currently 19.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ISTR. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Investar during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Investar by 440.9% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 2,363 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in Investar by 69.1% in 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 buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Investar by 24.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Investar by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

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.