Empowered Funds LLC Takes $2.09 Million Position in Investar Holding Corporation $ISTR

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 69,612 Investar shares worth approximately $2.09 million, representing a 0.51% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 50.17% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Zacks Research downgraded Investar to “hold,” while other services maintained or raised bullish ratings. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a $31.50 price target.
• Investar exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.75 in EPS and $36.55 million in revenue, and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.12 per share, or $0.48 annually.

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 69,612 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,086,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.51% of Investar as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ISTR. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Investar during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Investar by 440.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 2,363 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in Investar by 69.1% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 2,691 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Investar by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,341 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in Investar by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ISTR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research downgraded Investar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Investar in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Investar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.50.

Investar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ISTR opened at $30.71 on Friday. Investar Holding Corporation has a 12-month low of $21.43 and a 12-month high of $31.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $423.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.98 and a 200 day moving average of $28.88.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $36.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.35 million. Investar had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 11.65%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Investar Holding Corporation will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This is a positive change from Investar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Investar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.75%.

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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