Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $7.50 Million Stock Holdings in Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR - Free Report) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 341,384 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 23,895 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 3.47% of Investar worth $7,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ISTR. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Investar by 55.3% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 191,093 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,196,000 after acquiring an additional 68,027 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in Investar by 47.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,309 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 2,688 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its holdings in Investar by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 23,268 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 5,309 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Investar by 42.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 228,877 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,026,000 after acquiring an additional 67,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Investar by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 98,293 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 27,254 shares during the last quarter. 50.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Investar Price Performance

Shares of ISTR stock traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $19.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,987. The business has a fifty day moving average of $17.71 and a 200-day moving average of $19.88. The stock has a market cap of $196.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 0.58. Investar Holding Co. has a twelve month low of $14.60 and a twelve month high of $24.81. 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 (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.29. Investar had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 12.81%. The firm had revenue of $20.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.90 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Investar Holding Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Investar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Investar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ISTR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler upgraded Investar from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Investar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th.

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.