New York State Common Retirement Fund Buys 1,100 Shares of Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR)

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) by 100.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Investar were worth $48,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Investar by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 54,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,599 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Investar by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 59,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 20,196 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Investar by 46.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 5,190 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Investar by 25.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 26,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Investar by 49.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 161,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 53,434 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ISTR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Investar in a research note on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Investar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st.

Investar Price Performance

ISTR stock opened at $17.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $176.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.81 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Investar Holding Co. has a 12-month low of $14.60 and a 12-month high of $24.81. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.35.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts expect that Investar Holding Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Investar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Investar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.59%.

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.