Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR – Get Rating) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.
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Separately, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Investar to $23.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 29th.
Investar Stock Performance
NASDAQ ISTR opened at $21.58 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.45 million, a P/E ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 0.49. Investar has a fifty-two week low of $18.07 and a fifty-two week high of $23.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.
Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. Investar had a return on equity of 11.71% and a net margin of 29.21%. The firm had revenue of $26.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.56 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Investar will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, Director James M. Baker sold 3,730 shares of Investar stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.79, for a total value of $77,546.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $159,043.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 10.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Investar
Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Concourse Financial Group Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Investar in the 2nd quarter worth about $131,000. ELCO Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in Investar in the 3rd quarter worth about $398,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Investar by 50.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 38,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 12,884 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Investar by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 251,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,009,000 after purchasing an additional 17,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG acquired a new position in shares of Investar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 58.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Investar
(Get Rating)
Investar Holding Corp. is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of full banking services. It offers a full range of commercial and retail lending products throughout its market areas, including business loans to small to medium-sized businesses as well as loans to individuals. Its lending products consists of owner-occupied commercial real estate loans, construction loans and commercial and industrial loans, such as term loans, equipment financing and lines of credit, while its loans to individuals include first and second mortgage loans, installment loans, and lines of credit.
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