Quantbot Technologies LP Invests $518,000 in Investar Holding Corporation $ISTR

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 17,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $518,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ISTR. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Investar by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 58,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 3,905 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Investar by 1.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 230,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,455,000 after buying an additional 2,639 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Investar by 12.8% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 1,182 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Investar by 6.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 58,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,128,000 after buying an additional 3,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 5,738 shares in the last quarter. 50.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ISTR. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Investar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Investar from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Investar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Investar presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $31.50.

Investar Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of ISTR opened at $30.26 on Friday. Investar Holding Corporation has a 52-week low of $21.43 and a 52-week high of $31.77. The company has a market capitalization of $416.89 million, a PE ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current 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 the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $36.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.35 million. Investar had a return on equity of 11.65% and a net margin of 17.55%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Investar Holding Corporation will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This is a positive change from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Investar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.75%.

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.