Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Stock Price Passes Above 50 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR) crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $28.62 and traded as high as $30.09. Investar shares last traded at $29.46, with a volume of 157,708 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.50 price target on shares of Investar in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Investar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Investar from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Investar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Investar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.50.

Investar Trading Up 1.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.11. The firm has a market cap of $411.65 million, a P/E ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 0.46.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.18. Investar had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 16.53%.The firm had revenue of $35.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.40 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Investar Holding Corporation will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This is a positive change from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Investar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Investar by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 64,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,764,000 after acquiring an additional 5,746 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Investar by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 163,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,452,000 after purchasing an additional 54,447 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Investar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $321,000. AlTi Global Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Investar in the first quarter worth approximately $2,370,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Investar in the first quarter worth approximately $2,017,000. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.