Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Stock Price Passes Above 50-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR)’s stock price crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $25.63 and traded as high as $27.37. Investar shares last traded at $26.90, with a volume of 46,098 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Investar in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Investar to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Zacks Research cut Investar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

Investar Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $25.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.55. The stock has a market cap of $263.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01 and a beta of 0.54.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported ($1.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $25.46 million for the quarter. Investar had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 14.87%. On average, analysts expect that Investar Holding Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Investar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Investar’s payout ratio is presently 19.64%.

Institutional Trading of Investar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in 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 valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 2,363 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Investar by 19.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Investar by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Investar by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 3,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Investar by 12.8% during the 2nd 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 period. 50.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.