True North Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in Investar Holding Corporation $ISTR

True North Advisors LLC bought a new position in Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 27,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $738,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ISTR. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Investar by 7.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 58,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 3,905 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Investar by 1.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 230,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,455,000 after buying an additional 2,639 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Investar by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 1,182 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Investar by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 58,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,128,000 after buying an additional 3,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in Investar by 46.9% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 17,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 5,738 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

Investar Stock Performance

ISTR stock opened at $29.87 on Friday. 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 Holding Corporation has a 1 year low of $20.99 and a 1 year high of $31.77. The company has a market cap of $411.91 million, a P/E ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $29.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.35.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.18. Investar had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 16.53%.The company had revenue of $35.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.40 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Investar Holding Corporation will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Investar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ISTR shares. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $31.50 target price on shares of Investar in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Investar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Investar from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Investar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.