Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Raises Holdings in Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) by 42.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 41,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,445 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Investar were worth $921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ISTR. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Investar by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 51,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Investar by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 26,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $519,000 after acquiring an additional 1,706 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Investar by 851.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 14,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 12,815 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Investar by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 3,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Investar by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 108,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,117,000 after acquiring an additional 5,774 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Investar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Investar in a research report on Friday, February 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company.

Investar Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:ISTR opened at $17.37 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.29. The company has a market capitalization of $170.68 million, a PE ratio of 8.51 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Investar Holding Co. has a 52-week low of $14.60 and a 52-week high of $24.81.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.26. Investar had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 12.81%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Investar Holding Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Investar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.105 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Investar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.59%.

Investar 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.