Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 224,700 shares, a decrease of 12.2% from the October 15th total of 255,900 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 39,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.7 days.

Investar Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Investar stock traded down $0.26 during trading on Monday, reaching $23.33. 13,775 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 42,694. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.79. Investar has a 1-year low of $9.83 and a 1-year high of $24.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.33 million, a PE ratio of 13.18 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.12. Investar had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 11.35%. The company had revenue of $40.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.07 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Investar will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from Investar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Investar's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Investar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Institutional Trading of Investar

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Investar in the third quarter valued at about $57,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Investar by 129.1% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Investar by 2,810.1% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,622 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 10,257 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Investar in the first quarter valued at approximately $185,000. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Investar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $272,000. 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.