Investar (ISTR) Rating Lowered to Buy at BidaskClub

BidaskClub downgraded shares of Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Investar from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, March 29th. Sandler O’Neill set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Investar and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 24th. Finally, ValuEngine upgraded shares of Investar from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $27.75.

Get Investar alerts:

Shares of Investar stock opened at $27.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $260.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29 and a beta of 0.36. Investar has a fifty-two week low of $20.25 and a fifty-two week high of $29.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $14.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.22 million. Investar had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 7.01%. sell-side analysts predict that Investar will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 6th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. This is a boost from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. Investar’s payout ratio is currently 14.29%.

In related news, Director James M. Baker bought 1,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.80 per share, with a total value of $28,078.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $193,960.60. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have bought 1,168 shares of company stock valued at $32,168 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 9.07% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ISTR. ELCO Management Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Investar by 61.9% during the first quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC now owns 22,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $592,000 after purchasing an additional 8,761 shares in the last quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp increased its stake in shares of Investar by 61.9% during the first quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 22,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $592,000 after purchasing an additional 8,761 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of Investar by 33.0% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 27,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 6,759 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Investar by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 3,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Investar by 86.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 50,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 23,480 shares in the last quarter. 57.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Investar

Investar Holding Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Investar Bank that provides a range of commercial banking products for individuals and small to medium-sized businesses in South Louisiana. The company offers various deposit products and services, such as savings, checking, money market, NOW, and individual retirement accounts, as well as various certificates of deposit; debit cards; and mobile banking services.

Featured Article: What does RSI mean?