Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Separately, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Investar in a report on Friday, February 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock.

Investar Stock Performance

Shares of ISTR stock opened at $17.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.27. The company has a market cap of $175.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.81. Investar has a 12-month low of $14.60 and a 12-month high of $24.81.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Investar by 42.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 228,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,026,000 after acquiring an additional 67,695 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Investar by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 18,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 4,534 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Investar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $651,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Investar by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 145,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Investar by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 16,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 1,817 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.