Piper Sandler Begins Coverage on Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR)

Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) in a research note issued to investors on Friday. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $21.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price suggests a potential upside of 10.61% from the company’s previous close.

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

Investar Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:ISTR opened at $18.99 on Friday. Investar has a 1-year low of $14.60 and a 1-year high of $24.81. The company has a 50-day moving average of $20.42 and a 200 day moving average of $20.22. The firm has a market cap of $186.62 million, a PE ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.26. Investar had a net margin of 12.81% and a return on equity of 8.00%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Investar will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Investar

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ISTR. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Investar by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Investar by 129.1% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Investar by 47.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,688 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Investar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Investar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $272,000. 50.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.