Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ISTR. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Investar in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Zacks Research cut Investar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Investar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.50.

Investar Stock Performance

Shares of ISTR stock opened at $31.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Investar has a 52 week low of $21.43 and a 52 week high of $31.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $428.56 million, a PE ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $30.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.90.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.04. Investar had a return on equity of 11.65% and a net margin of 17.55%.The business had revenue of $36.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.35 million. On average, research analysts predict that Investar will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Investar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ISTR. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Investar by 7.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 58,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 3,905 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Investar by 1.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,639 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Investar by 12.8% in the second 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 during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Investar by 6.9% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Investar by 46.9% during 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 period. 50.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.