StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR)

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR – Get Rating) in a report issued on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Investar Stock Performance

Shares of ISTR traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $15.36. 16,885 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,845. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $20.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.22 million, a P/E ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Investar has a 12 month low of $15.36 and a 12 month high of $23.72.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $25.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.88 million. Investar had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 12.25%. Equities analysts predict that Investar will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Investar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.095 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $0.38 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. Investar’s payout ratio is 10.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Chris Jordan sold 2,477 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.46, for a total transaction of $50,679.42. Following the sale, the director now owns 47,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,581.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Investar news, Director Andrew C. Nelson purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.77 per share, for a total transaction of $47,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 133,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,103,087.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Chris Jordan sold 2,477 shares of Investar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.46, for a total transaction of $50,679.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 47,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,581.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 3,942 shares of company stock valued at $62,743 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 10.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fourthstone LLC grew its position in Investar by 19.9% in the first quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 967,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,465,000 after buying an additional 160,309 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Investar by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 255,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,495,000 after buying an additional 3,529 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Investar by 19.2% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 189,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,614,000 after buying an additional 30,477 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Investar by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 118,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,562,000 after purchasing an additional 25,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Investar by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 66,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 6,696 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.66% of the company’s stock.

Investar Company Profile

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Investar Holding Corp. is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of full banking services. It offers a full range of commercial and retail lending products throughout its market areas, including business loans to small to medium-sized businesses as well as loans to individuals. Its lending products consists of owner-occupied commercial real estate loans, construction loans and commercial and industrial loans, such as term loans, equipment financing and lines of credit, while its loans to individuals include first and second mortgage loans, installment loans, and lines of credit.