Maltese Capital Management LLC Has $4.60 Million Position in Investar Holding Corporation $ISTR

Maltese Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR) by 64.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 172,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 314,805 shares during the quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Investar were worth $4,600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ISTR. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Investar in the 4th quarter valued at $346,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Investar by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 137,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582 shares during the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC increased its position in Investar by 148.7% during the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 695,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,597,000 after purchasing an additional 416,145 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Investar by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 134,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,620,000 after buying an additional 6,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P increased its holdings in shares of Investar by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 41,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,099,000 after buying an additional 4,106 shares in the last quarter. 50.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Investar Stock Down 2.2%

ISTR opened at $29.48 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $28.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.84. Investar Holding Corporation has a twelve month low of $17.89 and a twelve month high of $31.77. The stock has a market cap of $406.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $35.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.40 million. Investar had a net margin of 16.53% and a return on equity of 10.62%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Investar Holding Corporation will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Investar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Investar’s dividend payout ratio is 19.30%.

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.