Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) saw a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 236,200 shares, a growth of 12.3% from the September 15th total of 210,400 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 54,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Investar Price Performance

Shares of ISTR traded up $0.58 on Tuesday, reaching $20.42. The stock had a trading volume of 14,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,476. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $18.18 and a 200 day moving average of $16.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.71 million, a PE ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 0.78. Investar has a twelve month low of $9.07 and a twelve month high of $20.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.06. Investar had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 10.04%. The business had revenue of $38.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Investar will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. This is a boost from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Investar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Investar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Investar

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ISTR. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Investar by 7.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after buying an additional 3,325 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Investar by 24.8% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 23,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 4,614 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Investar by 34.4% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 30,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 7,700 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in Investar by 92.3% during the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 20,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 9,921 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Investar by 2,810.1% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 10,257 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

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.