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

Shares of Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $19.58 and traded as high as $22.08. Investar shares last traded at $21.98, with a volume of 23,560 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Investar from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Investar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th.

Investar Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $214.23 million, a P/E ratio of 9.94 and a beta of 0.56. The company's 50 day moving average price is $19.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.88.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.29. Investar had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 8.60%. The firm had revenue of $20.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.90 million. Equities analysts forecast that Investar Holding Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This is an increase from Investar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Investar's payout ratio is 20.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Investar

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ISTR. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in Investar during the fourth quarter valued at about $651,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Investar by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 17,455 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,725 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Investar by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 101,031 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,219,000 after purchasing an additional 3,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Investar by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 341,384 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,497,000 after purchasing an additional 23,895 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.17% of the company's stock.

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.