Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Separately, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Investar from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Investar Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ISTR opened at $18.92 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $17.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.95. Investar has a 12-month low of $14.60 and a 12-month high of $24.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.81 million, a P/E ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $20.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.90 million. Investar had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 12.81%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Investar will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Investar

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ISTR. State Street Corp increased its position in Investar by 5.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 108,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,117,000 after buying an additional 5,774 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in Investar by 25.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 26,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 5,224 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Investar by 46.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 5,190 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in Investar by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 59,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,301,000 after buying an additional 20,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Investar by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 54,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 2,599 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

Investar Company Profile

Investar Holding Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Investar Bank that provides a range of commercial banking products to individuals, professionals, and small to medium-sized businesses in south Louisiana, southeast Texas, and Alabama in the United States. The company offers various deposit products and services, such as savings, checking, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as various certificates of deposit; debit and credit cards; internet, mobile, and video banking services; and reciprocal deposit products.