Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $383,000 Stake in Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.18% of Investar worth $383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rhino Investment Partners Inc increased its position in Investar by 383.8% during the fourth quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 145,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,194,000 after buying an additional 115,387 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Investar by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 101,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,219,000 after buying an additional 3,477 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Investar by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 341,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,497,000 after acquiring an additional 23,895 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Investar by 55.3% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 191,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,196,000 after acquiring an additional 68,027 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised 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 acquiring an additional 2,688 shares during the period. 50.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Investar Stock Down 0.9%

ISTR stock opened at $18.80 on Thursday. 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 Holding Co. has a 52-week low of $14.60 and a 52-week high of $24.81. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Investar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Investar’s payout ratio is presently 19.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ISTR. Piper Sandler upgraded 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Investar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th.

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.