Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) Short Interest Up 15.4% in June

Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 38,200 shares, a growth of 15.4% from the May 31st total of 33,100 shares. Approximately 0.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 27,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Investar Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of ISTR opened at $15.40 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $151.38 million, a PE ratio of 8.60 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.78 and a 200 day moving average of $16.02. Investar has a 52-week low of $9.07 and a 52-week high of $17.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.18. Investar had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 12.02%. The firm had revenue of $19.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Investar will post 1.43 EPS for the current year.

Investar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Investar’s payout ratio is 22.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Investar

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Investar by 36.3% in the first quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 214,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,509,000 after acquiring an additional 57,178 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Investar by 18.9% during the fourth 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. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Investar during the first quarter worth approximately $504,000. Banc Funds Co. LLC grew its holdings in Investar by 2.9% in the 4th 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, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Investar in the 3rd quarter valued at $149,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ISTR shares. Hovde Group dropped their price target on shares of Investar from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Investar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th.

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.