Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.06 EPS

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The financial services provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.06, Zacks reports. Investar had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 14.87%.The firm had revenue of $37.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.50 million.

Investar Stock Performance

Shares of ISTR stock opened at $23.14 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.87 and a 200-day moving average of $20.71. Investar has a one year low of $15.39 and a one year high of $24.81. The company has a market cap of $227.47 million, a P/E ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 0.59.

Investar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 190.0%. Investar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Investar to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Investar in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Investar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Investar

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Investar by 440.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 2,363 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,182 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in Investar by 46.9% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 17,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 5,738 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Investar by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 58,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 3,905 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Investar by 72.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 58,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 24,451 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

About Investar

Investar Holding Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Investar Bank that provides a range of commercial banking products to individuals, professionals, and small to medium-sized businesses in south Louisiana, southeast Texas, and Alabama in the United States. The company offers various deposit products and services, such as savings, checking, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as various certificates of deposit; debit and credit cards; internet, mobile, and video banking services; and reciprocal deposit products.