Investar Holding Corporation $ISTR Shares Sold by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR) by 43.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,831 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.29% of Investar worth $501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Investar by 42.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 228,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,026,000 after purchasing an additional 67,695 shares in the last quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc lifted its position in shares of Investar by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 157,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,767,000 after buying an additional 11,703 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Investar by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 92,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,627,000 after acquiring an additional 10,342 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Investar by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 58,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,022,000 after acquiring an additional 3,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Investar by 66.0% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 52,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $929,000 after acquiring an additional 20,794 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

Investar Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Investar stock opened at $23.30 on Friday. Investar Holding Corporation has a 1-year low of $15.39 and a 1-year high of $24.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $229.04 million, a P/E ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.02.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.07. Investar had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 14.33%.The company had revenue of $22.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.15 million. Analysts predict that Investar Holding Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Investar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 190.0%. Investar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Investar from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

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.