Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $3.87 Million Stake in Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR - Free Report) by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 251,235 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 31,589 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 2.56% of Investar worth $3,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Investar by 7.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $745,000 after buying an additional 3,325 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in Investar by 24.8% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 23,188 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 4,614 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in Investar by 92.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 20,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 9,921 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Investar by 2,810.1% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,622 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 10,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Investar in the first quarter worth $185,000. Institutional investors own 50.17% of the company's stock.

Investar Price Performance

Shares of ISTR traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $19.06. 20,875 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 43,814. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $18.02 and a 200 day moving average of $16.78. Investar Holding Co. has a one year low of $9.07 and a one year high of $19.96.

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

Investar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. This is a boost from Investar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Investar's payout ratio is currently 23.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.