Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at Piper Sandler

Analysts at Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) in a research report issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $21.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target indicates a potential upside of 13.15% from the stock’s previous close.

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

Investar Trading Down 2.2 %

Investar stock opened at $18.56 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. Investar has a 52 week low of $14.60 and a 52 week high of $24.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 0.79.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.26. Investar had a net margin of 12.81% and a return on equity of 8.00%. Research analysts forecast that Investar will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Investar

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ISTR. Rhino Investment Partners Inc increased its stake in shares of Investar by 383.8% in the fourth quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 145,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,194,000 after acquiring an additional 115,387 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Investar by 55.3% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 191,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,196,000 after acquiring an additional 68,027 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Investar by 42.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 228,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,026,000 after acquiring an additional 67,695 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Investar in the fourth quarter worth $651,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Investar in the third quarter worth $572,000. 50.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.