Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) Short Interest Down 9.8% in March

Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 35,900 shares, a decrease of 9.8% from the March 15th total of 39,800 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 23,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Investar Trading Down 0.3 %

ISTR opened at $15.68 on Wednesday. Investar has a 1-year low of $9.07 and a 1-year high of $17.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $16.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.35 million, a PE ratio of 9.28 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $20.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.84 million. Investar had a net margin of 11.94% and a return on equity of 8.64%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Investar will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Investar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. Investar’s dividend payout ratio is 23.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Investar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fourthstone LLC raised its position in shares of Investar by 19.9% during the 1st quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 967,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,465,000 after acquiring an additional 160,309 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP bought a new stake in Investar in the first quarter valued at about $575,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Investar in the second quarter valued at about $484,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 34,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Investar by 19.2% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 189,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,614,000 after buying an additional 30,477 shares during the period. 50.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.