Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Rating Lowered to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) from a "hold" to a sell rating in a research note issued Saturday.
• Other analysts have trimmed ratings too — Piper Sandler remains "neutral" with a $31.50 target while Zacks and Weiss recently downgraded; MarketBeat shows an average analyst rating of Hold and an average price target of $31.50.
• Fundamentals: Investar beat Q1 expectations with $0.87 EPS (vs. $0.69 est.) and $53.2M revenue, the stock trades near $28.22 with a 12‑month range of $17.89–$31.77 and a P/E of 12.38.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

ISTR has been the topic of several other reports. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $31.50 target price on shares of Investar in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded Investar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Investar from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Investar has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.50.

Investar Stock Performance

Shares of ISTR opened at $28.22 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $27.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Investar has a 12 month low of $17.89 and a 12 month high of $31.77. The company has a market cap of $387.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Investar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in Investar by 69.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position 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 valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 2,363 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in Investar by 19.5% during the third 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. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Investar by 24.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,341 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ELCO Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in Investar during the fourth quarter valued at $215,000. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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.