Short Interest in Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR) Expands By 40.7%

Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 282,792 shares, a growth of 40.7% from the March 15th total of 200,957 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 199,116 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on ISTR shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Investar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Investar from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.00.

Investar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ISTR opened at $28.12 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $28.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.38. Investar has a 12-month low of $16.01 and a 12-month high of $31.77. The firm has a market cap of $386.37 million, a PE ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. 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 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $23.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.35 million. Equities research analysts predict that Investar will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Investar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Investar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Investar

In related news, CEO John J. D’angelo sold 26,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.01, for a total value of $732,825.63. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 242,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,799,427.50. This represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 8.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ISTR. Fourthstone LLC grew its position in shares of Investar by 148.7% during the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 695,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,597,000 after purchasing an additional 416,145 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Investar by 91.0% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 111,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,586,000 after acquiring an additional 53,090 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Investar by 63.6% during the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 135,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,148,000 after acquiring an additional 52,744 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new stake in shares of Investar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $887,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Investar by 72.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 58,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 24,451 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

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.