Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• Investar reported **$0.54 earnings per share** for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.48, with a net margin of **14.33%** and a return on equity of **8.84%**.
• The company's stock rose **5.1%** on the earnings announcement, reaching **$22.61**, with a market capitalization of **$222.26 million**.
• Investar announced a dividend of **$0.11 per share**, yielding **190.0%**, and has a **dividend payout ratio of 19.64%**.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Monday. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.06, Zacks reports. Investar had a net margin of 14.33% and a return on equity of 8.84%.

Investar Stock Up 5.1%

ISTR stock traded up $1.09 during trading on Monday, hitting $22.61. 45,128 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 33,985. Investar has a 1 year low of $15.39 and a 1 year high of $24.81. The firm's 50 day moving average is $22.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.65. The stock has a market cap of $222.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 0.59. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a yield of 190.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. Investar's dividend payout ratio is 19.64%.

Institutional Trading of Investar

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 2,639 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Investar by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 139,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 3,757 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Investar by 72.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 58,221 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,125,000 after buying an additional 24,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Investar by 7.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 58,028 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,022,000 after buying an additional 3,905 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ISTR. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Investar from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Investar in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.

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