Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) Short Interest Down 21.5% in November

Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 176,500 shares, a drop of 21.5% from the October 31st total of 224,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 35,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at Investar

In other news, Director Scott G. Ginn bought 8,475 shares of Investar stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.68 per share, with a total value of $200,688.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 8,475 shares in the company, valued at $200,688. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Investar

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted 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 valued at $519,000 after buying an additional 1,706 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Investar by 5.2% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 51,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Investar in the third quarter valued at about $57,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Investar by 129.1% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Investar by 24.8% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 23,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 4,614 shares during the last quarter. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Investar Stock Performance

Investar stock traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.82. 15,866 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 42,273. Investar has a fifty-two week low of $10.87 and a fifty-two week high of $24.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $21.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $234.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 0.76.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $40.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.07 million. Investar had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 6.94%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Investar will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Investar Increases Dividend

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