Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.11

Key Points

• Investar Holding Corporation declared a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, scheduled for distribution on October 31st to shareholders on record as of September 30th.
• The company has an annualized dividend yield of 2.0% and a payout ratio of 18.8%, indicating strong earnings coverage.
• In its latest quarterly report, Investar exceeded earnings expectations with $0.47 earnings per share, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.40.

Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 17th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.11 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, October 31st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th.

Investar has a dividend payout ratio of 18.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Investar to earn $2.36 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.42 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.8%.

Investar Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of ISTR traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $23.06. The stock had a trading volume of 17,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,897. Investar has a 1-year low of $15.39 and a 1-year high of $24.81. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $22.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.89. The company has a market cap of $226.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.47 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 firm had revenue of $22.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.15 million. Equities research analysts expect that Investar will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Investar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Investar by 3,194.4% in the 1st 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. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,363 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Investar by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 3,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Investar by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,451 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 1,182 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of Investar by 258.8% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 12,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 8,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.17% of the company's stock.

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.