Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Shares Pass Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) shares crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.47 and traded as high as $24.00. Investar shares last traded at $23.80, with a volume of 150,242 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Investar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Investar Stock Up 13.0 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $19.47 and a 200 day moving average of $17.44. The firm has a market cap of $233.95 million, a P/E ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $40.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.07 million. Investar had a return on equity of 7.07% and a net margin of 11.35%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Investar Holding Co. will post 1.64 EPS for the current year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.105 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Investar’s payout ratio is 23.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Investar by 36.3% in the 1st quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 214,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,509,000 after acquiring an additional 57,178 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Investar by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 251,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,869,000 after purchasing an additional 31,589 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Investar in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $504,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Investar by 111.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 48,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $740,000 after buying an additional 25,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Investar during the second quarter valued at $329,000. Institutional investors own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

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.