Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Share Price Passes Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $20.32 and traded as low as $16.96. Investar shares last traded at $17.15, with a volume of 18,591 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ISTR has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Investar in a research report on Friday, February 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Investar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st.

Investar Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average price is $18.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $168.22 million, a PE ratio of 8.39 and a beta of 0.81.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.26. Investar had a net margin of 12.81% and a return on equity of 8.00%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Investar Holding Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

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Investar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Investar's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Investar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ISTR. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in Investar in the 3rd quarter worth $272,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Investar by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 51,524 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,546 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Investar in the 3rd quarter worth $572,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Investar by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 26,778 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $519,000 after acquiring an additional 1,706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Investar by 851.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 14,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 12,815 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.17% of the company's stock.

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.