StockNews.com Downgrades Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) to Hold

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Investar Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:ISTR opened at $21.02 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.21. Investar has a one year low of $9.07 and a one year high of $21.35. The firm has a market cap of $206.61 million, a P/E ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 0.78.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $40.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.07 million. Investar had a return on equity of 7.07% and a net margin of 11.35%. Equities analysts anticipate that Investar will post 1.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Investar

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ISTR. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Investar in the first quarter valued at approximately $504,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Investar by 2,810.1% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 10,257 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Investar by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $745,000 after buying an additional 3,325 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Investar by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 99,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after buying an additional 12,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Investar by 14.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 251,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,869,000 after buying an additional 31,589 shares during the last quarter. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.