Maltese Capital Management LLC Has $4.60 Million Holdings in Investar Holding Corporation $ISTR

Maltese Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR) by 64.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 172,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 314,805 shares during the quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC owned 1.75% of Investar worth $4,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fourthstone LLC raised its stake in shares of Investar by 148.7% in the fourth quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 695,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,597,000 after purchasing an additional 416,145 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Investar by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 431,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,010,000 after buying an additional 17,015 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Investar by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 410,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,970,000 after acquiring an additional 18,836 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Investar by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 230,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,455,000 after purchasing an additional 2,639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in Investar by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 139,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

Investar Stock Performance

Shares of ISTR stock opened at $29.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $406.53 million, a P/E ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $28.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.84. Investar Holding Corporation has a one year low of $17.89 and a one year high of $31.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.18. Investar had a net margin of 16.53% and a return on equity of 10.62%. The business had revenue of $35.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.40 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Investar Holding Corporation will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Investar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Investar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ISTR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Investar from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Investar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Investar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $31.50 target price on shares of Investar in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.50.

Investar 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.