Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.18 EPS

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) released its earnings results on Monday. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.18, FiscalAI reports. Investar had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 14.92%.The firm had revenue of $53.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.40 million.

Investar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ISTR opened at $29.79 on Tuesday. Investar has a 12 month low of $16.30 and a 12 month high of $31.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $409.31 million, a PE ratio of 13.92 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $28.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.52.

Investar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Investar’s dividend payout ratio is 20.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ISTR shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Investar from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research downgraded Investar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Investar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.00.

Insider Transactions at Investar

In other news, CEO John J. D’angelo sold 26,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.01, for a total transaction of $732,825.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 242,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,799,427.50. This represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 8.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Investar

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ISTR. Fourthstone LLC increased its stake in Investar by 148.7% in the fourth quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 695,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,597,000 after purchasing an additional 416,145 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Investar by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 431,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,010,000 after buying an additional 17,015 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Investar by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 410,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,970,000 after buying an additional 18,836 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Investar by 1.2% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Investar by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 139,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,688,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

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.