Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Share Price Crosses Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR)’s share price crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.74 and traded as high as $28.50. Investar shares last traded at $27.77, with a volume of 119,204 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.50 price objective on shares of Investar in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Investar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Investar from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Investar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.50.

Investar Stock Down 2.5%

The firm has a market cap of $381.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $27.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $35.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.40 million. Investar had a net margin of 16.53% and a return on equity of 11.83%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Investar Holding Corporation will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Investar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Investar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Investar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fourthstone LLC lifted its holdings in Investar by 148.7% in the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 695,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,597,000 after acquiring an additional 416,145 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Investar by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 437,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,928,000 after acquiring an additional 26,842 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 17,015 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. 50.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.