Strs Ohio Invests $493,000 in Investar Holding Corporation $ISTR

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has invested approximately $493,000 to acquire 28,000 shares of Investar Holding Corporation in the first quarter, representing a 0.28% stake in the company.
• Recent updates indicate that several hedge funds, including Copeland Capital Management LLC and Bank of New York Mellon Corp, have increased their holdings in Investar, demonstrating growing institutional interest.
• Following a strong quarterly earnings report where Investar exceeded analysts' expectations, Piper Sandler raised its price target for Investar from $22 to $27, giving it an "overweight" rating.

Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 28,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $493,000. Strs Ohio owned about 0.28% of Investar as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ISTR. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Investar in the first quarter valued at about $264,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 1,725 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew 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 purchasing an additional 1,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Investar by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 17,455 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. 50.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Investar Price Performance

NASDAQ ISTR traded up $0.13 during trading on Monday, reaching $23.14. 31,699 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,528. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $22.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.93. The company has a market cap of $227.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 0.62. Investar Holding Corporation has a 1-year low of $15.39 and a 1-year high of $24.81.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $22.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.15 million. Investar had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 14.33%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Investar Holding Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Investar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Investar's payout ratio is presently 19.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Investar from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Investar presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.00.

About Investar

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.