Bank of New York Mellon Corp Grows Position in Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) by 111.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 48,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,330 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Investar were worth $740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Investar by 36.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 57,178 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Investar by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 215,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,207,000 after acquiring an additional 34,175 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Investar during the 1st quarter valued at about $504,000. Banc Funds Co. LLC boosted its stake in Investar by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Banc Funds Co. LLC now owns 609,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,089,000 after buying an additional 16,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Investar by 14.3% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 99,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 12,412 shares during the last quarter. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Investar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ISTR opened at $19.60 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $192.65 million, a P/E ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Investar Holding Co. has a one year low of $9.07 and a one year high of $19.96. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $17.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.50.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $38.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 million. Investar had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 10.04%. Analysts anticipate that Investar Holding Co. will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. This is a boost from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Investar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Investar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th.

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.