Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) announced its earnings results on Monday. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.18, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $53.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.40 million. Investar had a net margin of 16.53% and a return on equity of 11.83%.

Investar Stock Down 4.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:ISTR opened at $28.41 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $28.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.56. The stock has a market cap of $390.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 0.51. Investar has a fifty-two week low of $17.89 and a fifty-two week high of $31.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Investar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Investar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John J. D’angelo sold 26,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.01, for a total value of $732,825.63. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 242,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available through this hyperlink. 8.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Investar

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ISTR. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,363 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings 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 worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Investar by 24.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised 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 worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Investar by 93.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 5,379 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ISTR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Investar from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Investar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.00.

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.