Nuveen LLC Makes New $264,000 Investment in Investar Holding Corporation $ISTR

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has made a new investment of approximately $264,000 in Investar Holding Corporation, acquiring 15,017 shares of its stock, representing about 0.15% of the company.
• Investar Holding Corporation recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.11 per share, which reflects an annualized yield of 1.9%, indicating positive growth in shareholder returns.
• After reporting an earnings per share of $0.47 for the latest quarter, Investar exceeded analysts' estimates and is projected to post a total of 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 15,017 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $264,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Investar at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ISTR. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Investar by 26.4% in the first quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 3,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,688 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Investar by 3,194.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 1,725 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Investar by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 16,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 1,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Investar by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 17,455 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.17% of the company's stock.

Investar Trading Up 0.4%

ISTR stock traded up $0.09 on Thursday, hitting $22.97. 24,893 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 35,652. Investar Holding Corporation has a twelve month low of $15.39 and a twelve month high of $24.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business's fifty day moving average is $22.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $225.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25 and a beta of 0.62.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.07. Investar had a net margin of 14.33% and a return on equity of 8.84%. The company had revenue of $22.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.15 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Investar Holding Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This is an increase from Investar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Investar's payout ratio is presently 19.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ISTR shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Investar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 17th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Investar from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.00.

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.