Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) Short Interest Update

Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 176,500 shares, a decrease of 21.5% from the October 31st total of 224,700 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 35,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Investar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Investar

In related news, Director Scott G. Ginn acquired 8,475 shares of Investar stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.68 per share, with a total value of $200,688.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,475 shares in the company, valued at $200,688. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Investar by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 251,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,869,000 after acquiring an additional 31,589 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Investar by 49.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 161,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 53,434 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Investar by 5.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 108,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,117,000 after purchasing an additional 5,774 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Investar by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 51,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Investar by 111.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 48,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $740,000 after buying an additional 25,330 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

Investar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ISTR remained flat at $23.82 during trading on Monday. The stock had a trading volume of 35,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,183. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $21.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.32. Investar has a one year low of $11.36 and a one year high of $24.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 0.76.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.12. Investar had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 6.94%. The firm had revenue of $40.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.07 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Investar will post 1.64 EPS for the current year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.105 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Investar’s dividend payout ratio is 23.46%.

About Investar

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.