Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR) Short Interest Down 17.6% in April

Key Points

• Short interest fell 17.6% in April to 232,896 shares (about 1.9% of shares), leaving a short interest days-to-cover ratio of roughly 1.7 days.
• Investar reported a strong quarter, beating estimates with $0.87 EPS versus $0.69 expected and $53.2M in revenue, and declared a $0.11 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~1.6%).
• The stock carries a consensus "Hold" rating with an average target of $31.50, trades near $27.79 (market cap ~$382M, P/E ~12.2), and is ~50% owned by institutions.

Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 232,896 shares, a decline of 17.6% from the March 31st total of 282,792 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 134,261 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Investar

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Investar by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 58,028 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,022,000 after buying an additional 3,905 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Investar by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 230,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,455,000 after buying an additional 2,639 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Investar by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,451 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 1,182 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Investar by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 58,404 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,128,000 after buying an additional 3,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Investar by 46.9% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 17,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 5,738 shares in the last quarter. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Investar Price Performance

NASDAQ:ISTR traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $27.79. 53,089 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 133,834. Investar has a 52 week low of $17.89 and a 52 week high of $31.77. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $27.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $381.83 million, a P/E ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 0.51.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $53.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.40 million. Investar had a return on equity of 11.83% and a net margin of 16.53%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Investar will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Investar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Investar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ISTR shares. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $31.50 target price on shares of Investar in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Investar from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Investar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Investar presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.50.

Investar Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.