Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $23.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.35 million. Investar had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 14.87%.

Investar Price Performance

Shares of ISTR stock opened at $28.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Investar has a 12-month low of $15.39 and a 12-month high of $28.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $26.29 and a 200-day moving average of $23.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $277.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 0.54.

Investar Dividend Announcement

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Investar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Investar

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Investar by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 58,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 3,905 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Investar by 1.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 230,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,455,000 after buying an additional 2,639 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Investar by 12.8% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Investar by 6.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 58,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 3,757 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Investar by 46.9% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 17,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 5,738 shares during the period. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.