Renaissance Technologies LLC Decreases Stake in Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR)

Renaissance Technologies LLC cut its stake in shares of Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,800 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.61% of Investar worth $1,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Investar by 100.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in Investar by 47.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 2,688 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Investar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Investar by 46.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 5,190 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Investar by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 26,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,224 shares during the last quarter. 50.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ISTR. Piper Sandler raised shares of Investar from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Investar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Investar Trading Up 1.5 %

ISTR stock opened at $18.51 on Tuesday. 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 52-week low of $14.60 and a 52-week high of $24.81. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.97. The firm has a market cap of $181.79 million, a P/E ratio of 9.07 and a beta of 0.52.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $20.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.90 million. Investar had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 12.81%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Investar Holding Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Investar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Investar’s payout ratio is 19.18%.

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.