Zacks Research Upgrades Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) to Strong-Buy

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Investar from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Investar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $31.50 price target on shares of Investar in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Investar has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $31.50.

Investar Stock Up 0.9%

ISTR stock opened at $28.97 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.26. Investar has a 12 month low of $20.99 and a 12 month high of $31.77. The company has a market cap of $399.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 0.45.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $35.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.40 million. Investar had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 16.53%. As a group, analysts forecast that Investar will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Investar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Investar by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 64,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,764,000 after buying an additional 5,746 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Investar by 114.0% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 105,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,870,000 after acquiring an additional 56,075 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Investar by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 163,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,452,000 after acquiring an additional 54,447 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Investar by 92.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 65,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,780,000 after acquiring an additional 31,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlTi Global Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Investar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,370,000. 50.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Investar Company Profile

Investar Holdings, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, operating through its primary subsidiary, Investar Bank. The company delivers commercial and consumer banking products across southeastern Louisiana and into select Texas markets, focusing on relationship-driven service. Investar Bank’s offerings include deposit accounts, lending solutions, online and mobile banking, and treasury management services.

Its lending portfolio encompasses commercial real estate financing, construction and development loans, commercial and industrial credits, agricultural loans, and residential mortgage originations.