Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 210,400 shares, a decrease of 13.0% from the August 31st total of 241,900 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 77,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Investar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

Investar Trading Up 0.4 %

ISTR stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Monday, reaching $19.40. 49,643 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 44,339. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $17.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.62. Investar has a 1 year low of $9.07 and a 1 year high of $19.96.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $38.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 million. Investar had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 10.04%. On average, research analysts predict that Investar will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.105 dividend. This is a positive change from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Investar’s payout ratio is 23.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ISTR. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake 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 valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 10,257 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Investar during the first quarter worth $185,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Investar by 92.3% during the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 20,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 9,921 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Investar in the second quarter valued at $329,000. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Investar by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 23,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 4,614 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

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.