Zacks Research Downgrades Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) to Hold

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded Investar from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Investar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

Investar Price Performance

ISTR opened at $27.08 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $28.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.87. Investar has a fifty-two week low of $15.39 and a fifty-two week high of $31.77. The firm has a market cap of $372.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 0.52.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $23.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.35 million. Investar had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 14.92%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Investar will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Investar

In other Investar 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 completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 8.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Investar

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Investar by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Investar by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 58,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,575,000 after buying an additional 4,824 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in Investar by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 130,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,490,000 after acquiring an additional 4,824 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Investar by 48.3% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $677,000 after acquiring an additional 8,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in Investar by 69.1% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 2,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

About Investar

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.