Bank of New York Mellon Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) by 111.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,330 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.49% of Investar worth $740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Investar in the first quarter valued at approximately $504,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in 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 during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Investar by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after purchasing an additional 3,325 shares during the last quarter. Banc Funds Co. LLC raised its stake in Investar by 2.9% in the fourth 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, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted 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 buying an additional 12,412 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

Investar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ISTR opened at $19.60 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.50. Investar Holding Co. has a fifty-two week low of $9.07 and a fifty-two week high of $19.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $192.65 million, a PE ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 0.78.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.06. Investar had a net margin of 10.04% and a return on equity of 6.69%. The firm had revenue of $38.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 million. Analysts expect that Investar Holding Co. will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. This is a boost from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Investar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Investar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Investar Company Profile

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.