Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Upgraded to “Overweight” at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Piper Sandler currently has $22.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $21.00.

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Investar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th.

Investar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ISTR opened at $18.37 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $17.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $180.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 0.52. Investar has a 1-year low of $14.60 and a 1-year high of $24.81.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.29. Investar had a net margin of 12.81% and a return on equity of 8.00%. The firm had revenue of $20.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.90 million. Analysts forecast that Investar will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Investar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Investar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Investar by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 17,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Investar by 3,194.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 1,725 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Investar by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 16,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 1,817 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Investar by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 145,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,099 shares during the period. 50.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.