Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases New Position in Investar Holding Corporation $ISTR

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 17,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $518,000. Quantbot Technologies LP owned 0.13% of Investar at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC increased its holdings 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 boosted its holdings in 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 worth $1,241,000 after buying an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Investar by 24.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in Investar by 0.6% during the second 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 period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Investar by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 2,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

Investar Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:ISTR opened at $30.26 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $29.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.86. Investar Holding Corporation has a 1 year low of $21.43 and a 1 year high of $31.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $416.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $36.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.35 million. Investar had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 11.65%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Investar Holding Corporation will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a boost from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Investar’s payout ratio is currently 19.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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 research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Investar from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Investar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.50.

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.