Royce & Associates LP Sells 35,438 Shares of Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR)

Royce & Associates LP cut its stake in Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR - Free Report) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 223,172 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 35,438 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned 2.27% of Investar worth $4,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Investar by 42.2% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 41,926 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 12,445 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in Investar by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Investar by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 54,123 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,189,000 after buying an additional 2,599 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in Investar by 51.7% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 59,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,301,000 after buying an additional 20,196 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Investar by 46.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,417 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 5,190 shares during the period. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ISTR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Investar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Investar in a research report on Friday, February 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $21.00 target price for the company.

Investar Price Performance

NASDAQ:ISTR traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $17.73. 58,118 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,626. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Investar Holding Co. has a 1 year low of $14.60 and a 1 year high of $24.81. The company has a market cap of $174.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $18.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.29.

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, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Investar Holding Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Investar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Investar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.59%.

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.