Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Cut to “Hold” at Piper Sandler

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $31.50 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target suggests a potential upside of 14.92% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Investar from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research downgraded Investar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.50.

Investar Trading Down 3.6%

ISTR opened at $27.41 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $376.61 million, a P/E ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Investar has a 12 month low of $17.89 and a 12 month high of $31.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.58.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $53.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.40 million. Investar had a return on equity of 11.83% and a net margin of 16.53%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Investar will post 3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Investar

In other news, CEO John J. D’angelo sold 26,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.01, for a total value of $732,825.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 242,750 shares in the company, valued at $6,799,427.50. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 8.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Investar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Investar by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Investar by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 46,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,241,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased 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 buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in Investar by 0.6% during the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 139,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 763 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 worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.