Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Downgraded to "Hold" Rating by Piper Sandler

Key Points

• Piper Sandler downgraded Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) from "strong-buy" to "hold" and set a $31.50 price target, implying roughly a 14.9% upside; MarketBeat shows a consensus "Hold" with the same average target.
• Investar recently beat quarterly estimates with $0.87 EPS vs. $0.69 expected and $53.2M revenue vs. $36.4M expected, reporting a 16.53% net margin and 11.83% ROE while trading at a P/E of 12.02 and a market cap of about $376.6M.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Piper Sandler from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $31.50 price objective on the financial services provider's stock. Piper Sandler's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 14.92% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on ISTR. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Investar from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research cut shares of Investar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.50.

Investar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ISTR opened at $27.41 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $376.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.51. Investar has a one year low of $17.89 and a one year high of $31.77.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $53.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.40 million. Investar had a net margin of 16.53% and a return on equity of 11.83%. Sell-side analysts expect that Investar will post 3.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Investar news, CEO John J. D'angelo sold 26,163 shares of Investar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.01, for a total transaction of $732,825.63. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 242,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,799,427.50. The trade was a 9.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 8.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Investar

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Investar by 440.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 2,363 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Investar by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,058 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in shares of Investar by 69.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased 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 worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Investar by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,451 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.17% of the company's stock.

About Investar

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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