Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $23.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.35 million. Investar had a net margin of 14.92% and a return on equity of 9.31%.

Investar Trading Down 1.1%

Investar stock opened at $27.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $274.19 million, a PE ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 0.54. Investar has a 12 month low of $15.39 and a 12 month high of $28.79. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Investar Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Investar

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in Investar by 19.3% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 35,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $824,000 after buying an additional 5,740 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of 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. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Investar by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 431,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,010,000 after acquiring an additional 17,015 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp purchased a new position in shares of Investar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $887,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Investar by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 43,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 7,220 shares during the period. 50.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ISTR. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Investar in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Investar to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Investar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.00.

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.