Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) Stock Position Lifted by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) by 5.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,546 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Investar were worth $1,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ISTR. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Investar by 14.3% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 99,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 12,412 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Investar in the first quarter worth approximately $504,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its position in Investar by 36.3% in the first quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 214,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,509,000 after acquiring an additional 57,178 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in Investar by 24.8% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 23,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 4,614 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Investar by 111.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 48,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $740,000 after acquiring an additional 25,330 shares in the last quarter. 50.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Investar Price Performance

Shares of Investar stock opened at $23.82 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Investar Holding Co. has a 1-year low of $10.34 and a 1-year high of $24.26. 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 for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $40.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.07 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Investar Holding Co. will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is a boost from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Investar’s payout ratio is presently 23.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Investar 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.