StockNews.com Upgrades Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

Separately, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Investar in a research note on Friday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company.

Investar Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Investar stock traded up $0.03 on Friday, reaching $18.56. 30,461 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 31,638. Investar has a fifty-two week low of $14.60 and a fifty-two week high of $24.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.30.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.26. Investar had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 12.81%. On average, analysts expect that Investar 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Investar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.59%.

Institutional Trading of Investar

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Investar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $272,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Investar by 5.2% in the third 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. purchased a new stake in shares of Investar during the third quarter worth $572,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Investar by 6.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 26,778 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Investar by 851.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 14,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 12,815 shares in the last quarter. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Investar

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.