Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Increases Position in Investar Holding Corporation $ISTR

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital increased its Investar Holding stake by 50% in the first quarter, purchasing 54,447 additional shares for a total of 163,271 shares valued at approximately $4.45 million. Institutional investors collectively own 50.17% of Investar.
• Investar reported quarterly EPS of $0.75, exceeding the $0.71 analyst consensus, while revenue of $36.55 million also topped expectations. The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.12 per share, representing a 1.6% annual yield.
• Investar shares opened at $30.15, near their 52-week high of $31.77. Analysts collectively rate the stock “Buy,” with an average price target of $31.50.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR - Free Report) by 50.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 163,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 54,447 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 1.18% of Investar worth $4,452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fourthstone LLC increased its holdings in shares of Investar by 148.7% in the fourth quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 695,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,597,000 after purchasing an additional 416,145 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Investar by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 437,405 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,928,000 after acquiring an additional 26,842 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Investar by 4.1% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 431,281 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,010,000 after purchasing an additional 17,015 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Investar by 1.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 230,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,455,000 after purchasing an additional 2,639 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Investar by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 139,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.17% of the company's stock.

Investar Price Performance

Investar stock opened at $30.15 on Tuesday. Investar Holding Corporation has a 52 week low of $21.09 and a 52 week high of $31.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $29.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $415.89 million, a PE ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 0.45.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.04. Investar had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 12.44%. The firm had revenue of $36.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.35 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Investar Holding Corporation will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Investar Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ISTR shares. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $31.50 target price on shares of Investar in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised Investar from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Investar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Investar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $31.50.

Investar 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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