Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Shares Cross Below 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) crossed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $20.32 and traded as low as $16.96. Investar shares last traded at $17.15, with a volume of 18,591 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ISTR shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Investar in a research report on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Investar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st.

Investar Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $168.55 million, a P/E ratio of 8.41 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $18.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.26. Investar had a net margin of 12.81% and a return on equity of 8.00%. As a group, research analysts expect that Investar Holding Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Investar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Investar’s dividend payout ratio is 20.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Investar

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ISTR. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Investar in the third quarter valued at approximately $272,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Investar by 5.2% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 51,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Investar in the third quarter valued at approximately $572,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Investar by 6.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 26,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,706 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Investar by 851.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 14,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 12,815 shares during the period. 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.