Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Share Price Passes Below 50-Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Investar's shares fell below its 50-day moving average of $28.20, trading as low as $27.63 and last at $27.78 on volume of 83,224 shares.
• Several analysts have downgraded the stock (Weiss and Zacks among them), leaving a consensus Hold rating and a $29.00 price target.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.58 (beating the $0.54 estimate) but revenue missed at $23.93M versus $37.35M, and it declared a $0.11 quarterly dividend (≈1.6% yield).

Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $28.20 and traded as low as $27.63. Investar shares last traded at $27.78, with a volume of 83,224 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Investar from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research cut Investar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Investar has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.00.

Investar Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $381.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.98 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.17.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $23.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.35 million. Investar had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 14.92%. On average, analysts expect that Investar Holding Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Investar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Investar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Investar news, CEO John J. D'angelo sold 26,163 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.01, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 8.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Investar

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Investar by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Investar by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 46,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,241,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Investar by 24.9% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Investar by 0.6% in the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 139,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in shares of Investar by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 2,691 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.17% of the company's stock.

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.

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