Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 210,400 shares, a decline of 13.0% from the August 31st total of 241,900 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 77,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Investar

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Investar during the 1st quarter worth $504,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 34,175 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Investar by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $745,000 after purchasing an additional 3,325 shares in the last quarter. Banc Funds Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Investar by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Banc Funds Co. LLC now owns 609,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,089,000 after purchasing an additional 16,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Investar by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 99,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 12,412 shares in the last quarter. 50.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Investar Stock Up 0.4 %

ISTR stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $19.40. 49,643 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 44,339. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Investar has a 1-year low of $9.07 and a 1-year high of $19.96. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.62. The company has a market cap of $190.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Investar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.105 dividend. This is a boost from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Investar’s payout ratio is currently 23.46%.

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.