Investar Holding Co. (ISTR) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 31st

Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 20th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of 0.105 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st.

Investar has increased its dividend payment by an average of 9.8% per year over the last three years. Investar has a dividend payout ratio of 18.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Investar to earn $2.36 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 17.8%.

Investar Price Performance

NASDAQ ISTR opened at $17.73 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $18.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.28. 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 has a 1 year low of $14.60 and a 1 year high of $24.81. The company has a market cap of $174.21 million, a PE ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ISTR has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Investar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Investar in a research note on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock.

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.