Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Shares Cross Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR)’s stock price crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.82 and traded as high as $30.16. Investar shares last traded at $29.87, with a volume of 255,305 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Investar Stock Up 1.4%

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.87. 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 company has a market capitalization of $293.02 million, a P/E ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Investar Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John J. D’angelo sold 26,163 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.01, for a total transaction of $732,825.63. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 242,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,799,427.50. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 8.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Investar

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Investar by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Investar by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 46,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,241,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Investar by 24.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Investar by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 139,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Investar by 6.2% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 13,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares in the last quarter. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Investar

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.