Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) Declares $0.11 Quarterly Dividend

Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 18th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.105 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, January 31st. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st.

Investar has increased its dividend payment by an average of 16.5% per year over the last three years. Investar has a dividend payout ratio of 21.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Investar to earn $1.83 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.42 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 23.0%.

Investar Stock Down 1.3 %

ISTR stock opened at $21.98 on Friday. Investar has a fifty-two week low of $14.60 and a fifty-two week high of $24.81. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $22.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 0.79.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $40.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.07 million. Investar had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 6.94%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Investar will post 1.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Investar

In related news, Director Scott G. Ginn bought 8,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.68 per share, for a total transaction of $200,688.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 8,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $200,688. This represents a ? increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.