Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on ISTR. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Investar in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Investar to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $29.00.

Investar Stock Up 1.5%

NASDAQ:ISTR traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $28.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 17,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,112. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $276.50 million, a P/E ratio of 13.17 and a beta of 0.54. Investar has a 12 month low of $15.39 and a 12 month high of $31.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.17.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $23.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.35 million. Investar had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 14.92%. Equities analysts predict that Investar will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Investar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Investar’s payout ratio is 20.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Investar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ISTR. CWM LLC grew its stake in Investar by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in Investar by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 21,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 2,682 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Investar by 93.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 5,379 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in Investar by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 35,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 5,740 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Investar by 39.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 6,091 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.