Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Share Price Passes Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) shares passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $20.32 and traded as low as $16.96. Investar shares last traded at $17.15, with a volume of 18,591 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Investar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Investar in a research note on Friday, February 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock.

Investar Price Performance

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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $18.96 and its 200 day moving average is $20.32. The firm has a market cap of $168.55 million, a P/E ratio of 8.41 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Investar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Investar’s payout ratio is currently 20.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Investar

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Investar by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 341,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,497,000 after buying an additional 23,895 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Investar by 42.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 228,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,026,000 after buying an additional 67,695 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Investar by 55.3% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 191,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,196,000 after buying an additional 68,027 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Investar by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 145,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhino Investment Partners Inc raised its holdings in shares of Investar by 383.8% during the fourth quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 145,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,194,000 after purchasing an additional 115,387 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

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.