Investar Holding Co. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.11 (NASDAQ:ISTR)

Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 19th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of 0.105 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, January 31st. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st.

Investar has increased its dividend by an average of 16.5% per year over the last three years. Investar has a payout ratio of 21.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Investar to earn $1.83 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.42 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 23.0%.

Investar Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of ISTR traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $21.82. 30,568 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,569. The firm's 50 day moving average is $22.42 and its 200-day moving average is $19.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. Investar has a 52 week low of $14.10 and a 52 week high of $24.81. The company has a market cap of $214.45 million, a PE ratio of 12.19 and a beta of 0.79.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.12. Investar had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 11.35%. The company had revenue of $40.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.07 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Investar will post 1.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Investar

In related news, Director Scott G. Ginn purchased 8,475 shares of Investar stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $23.68 per share, with a total value of $200,688.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $200,688. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 8.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Investar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Investar Company Profile

Investar Holding Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Investar Bank that provides a range of commercial banking products to individuals, professionals, and small to medium-sized businesses in south Louisiana, southeast Texas, and Alabama in the United States. The company offers various deposit products and services, such as savings, checking, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as various certificates of deposit; debit and credit cards; internet, mobile, and video banking services; and reciprocal deposit products.