Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Shares Pass Above 50 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Investar's stock price surpassed its 50-day moving average of $22.66, trading at $22.83, indicating positive momentum.
• Piper Sandler raised their target price for Investar from $22.00 to $27.00, reflecting an "overweight" rating, while the stock currently holds an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company recently declared a dividend of $0.11 per share, which represents a dividend yield of 190.0% and a payout ratio of 19.64%.

Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.66 and traded as high as $23.06. Investar shares last traded at $22.83, with a volume of 25,884 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ISTR shares. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Investar from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Investar in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.00.

Investar Stock Up 0.6%

The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.42 million, a PE ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 0.59.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $22.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.15 million. Investar had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 14.33%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Investar Holding Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Investar Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Investar

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ISTR. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Investar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $651,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Investar by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 18,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 4,534 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Investar by 3,194.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 1,725 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Investar by 26.4% during the first quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 3,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Investar by 3.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,307 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $675,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares during the period. 50.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Investar

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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