Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Shares Cross Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR)’s stock price passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.82 and traded as high as $30.16. Investar shares last traded at $29.87, with a volume of 255,305 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ISTR. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Investar in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Investar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Investar to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Investar presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $29.00.

Investar Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $293.02 million, a P/E ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.87.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.04. Investar had a net margin of 14.92% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The business had revenue of $23.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.35 million. Research analysts forecast that Investar Holding Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Investar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Investar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John J. D’angelo sold 26,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.01, for a total value of $732,825.63. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 242,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,799,427.50. The trade was a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 8.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Investar

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ISTR. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Investar by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 110,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,136,000 after buying an additional 18,148 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Investar during the second quarter valued at about $480,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Investar by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 112,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after buying an additional 16,000 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management increased its position in Investar by 258.8% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 12,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 8,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Investar by 9.0% in the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 54,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,058,000 after acquiring an additional 4,526 shares in the last quarter. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Investar Company Profile

Investar Holdings, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, operating through its primary subsidiary, Investar Bank. The company delivers commercial and consumer banking products across southeastern Louisiana and into select Texas markets, focusing on relationship-driven service. Investar Bank’s offerings include deposit accounts, lending solutions, online and mobile banking, and treasury management services.

Its lending portfolio encompasses commercial real estate financing, construction and development loans, commercial and industrial credits, agricultural loans, and residential mortgage originations.