1,256,649 Shares in Investar Holding Corporation $ISTR Acquired by BlackRock Inc.

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 1,256,649 Investar shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $37.6 million and representing about 9.11% of the company. Other institutions also increased their positions, with institutional investors collectively owning 50.17% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Investar carries an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $31.50. Recent upgrades included Wall Street Zen moving the stock to “Buy” and Zacks Research assigning a “Strong Buy” rating.
• Investar reported quarterly EPS of $0.75, beating estimates by $0.04, while revenue of $36.55 million also exceeded forecasts. The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.12 per share, equivalent to a 1.6% yield.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,256,649 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $37,649,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 9.11% of Investar as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ISTR. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Investar in the second quarter worth $373,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Investar during the 2nd quarter worth $1,376,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Investar by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 64,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,764,000 after purchasing an additional 5,746 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Investar by 114.0% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 105,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,870,000 after purchasing an additional 56,075 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Investar by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 163,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,452,000 after purchasing an additional 54,447 shares in the last quarter. 50.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Investar in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Investar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Investar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $31.50.

Investar Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of ISTR opened at $29.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $29.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.87. Investar Holding Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $21.43 and a fifty-two week high of $31.77. The company has a market capitalization of $410.09 million, a PE ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.04. Investar had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 11.65%. The business had revenue of $36.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.35 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Investar Holding Corporation will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This is an increase from Investar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Investar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.75%.

Investar Company Profile

Investar Holdings, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, operating through its primary subsidiary, Investar Bank. The company delivers commercial and consumer banking products across southeastern Louisiana and into select Texas markets, focusing on relationship-driven service. Investar Bank's offerings include deposit accounts, lending solutions, online and mobile banking, and treasury management services.

Its lending portfolio encompasses commercial real estate financing, construction and development loans, commercial and industrial credits, agricultural loans, and residential mortgage originations.

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