Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR) Short Interest Down 17.6% in April

Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 232,896 shares, a decline of 17.6% from the March 31st total of 282,792 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 134,261 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Investar Trading Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:ISTR traded up $0.51 on Friday, reaching $28.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 152,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 177,830. Investar has a 12-month low of $17.89 and a 12-month high of $31.77. 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 firm has a market cap of $387.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.75.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last posted its earnings results 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 11.83% and a net margin of 16.53%.The company had revenue of $53.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.40 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Investar will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Investar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Investar’s payout ratio is currently 19.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Investar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Investar in the 1st quarter valued at $1,816,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Investar in the 1st quarter valued at $2,017,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Investar by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Investar by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 58,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after buying an additional 4,824 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,824 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ISTR. Wall Street Zen lowered Investar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.50 target price on shares of Investar in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Investar from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Investar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.50.

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.