LSV Asset Management Raises Holdings in Investar Holding Corporation $ISTR

LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR) by 258.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,800 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned about 0.12% of Investar worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Investar by 1.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 230,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,455,000 after acquiring an additional 2,639 shares during the period. Rhino Investment Partners Inc increased its holdings in Investar by 8.0% during the first 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 during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Investar by 19.6% in the second 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. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Investar by 7.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 58,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,022,000 after buying an additional 3,905 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Investar by 9.0% during 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 buying an additional 4,526 shares during the period. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Investar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Investar in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Investar to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

Investar Stock Up 3.4%

NASDAQ:ISTR opened at $24.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Investar Holding Corporation has a twelve month low of $15.39 and a twelve month high of $25.71. The company has a market cap of $238.58 million, a PE ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s 50 day moving average is $23.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.74.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported ($1.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $25.46 million during the quarter. Investar had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 14.87%. Analysts anticipate that Investar Holding Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Investar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a yield of 190.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Investar’s payout ratio is presently 19.64%.

About Investar

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.