Short Interest in Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) Increases By 12.3%

Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 236,200 shares, a growth of 12.3% from the September 15th total of 210,400 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 54,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Investar

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ISTR. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Investar by 36.3% in the first quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 214,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,509,000 after acquiring an additional 57,178 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Investar by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 251,235 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,869,000 after purchasing an additional 31,589 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Investar during the first quarter worth $504,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Investar by 111.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 48,073 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $740,000 after buying an additional 25,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Investar in the second quarter worth about $329,000. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Investar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

Investar Price Performance

Shares of Investar stock traded up $0.59 on Tuesday, reaching $20.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 43,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,621. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $200.81 million, a P/E ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.85. Investar has a 52-week low of $9.07 and a 52-week high of $20.63.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.06. Investar had a net margin of 10.04% and a return on equity of 6.69%. The company had revenue of $38.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.23 million. Analysts expect that Investar will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. This is a boost from Investar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Investar's payout ratio is presently 23.46%.

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.