Insider Selling: Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) CEO Sells $732,825.63 in Stock

Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR) CEO John D’angelo sold 26,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.01, for a total transaction of $732,825.63. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 242,750 shares in the company, valued at $6,799,427.50. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Investar Stock Performance

Shares of ISTR opened at $28.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $279.09 million, a PE ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.82 and a 200-day moving average of $24.26. Investar Holding Corporation has a one year low of $15.39 and a one year high of $31.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.04. Investar had a net margin of 14.92% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The company had revenue of $23.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.35 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Investar Holding Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Investar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. Investar’s payout ratio is currently 20.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ISTR shares. Zacks Research raised Investar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Investar in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Investar to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Investar presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Investar

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Investar by 440.9% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its position in Investar by 16.4% during the second quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 3,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Investar by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted 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 valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182 shares during the period. 50.17% of the stock is owned by 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.