Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) released its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.12, Yahoo Finance reports. Investar had a net margin of 10.04% and a return on equity of 6.69%. The firm had revenue of $40.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.07 million.

Investar Stock Performance

NASDAQ ISTR traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $20.81. 40,742 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 43,308. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $18.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.54 million, a P/E ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 0.78. Investar has a 52 week low of $9.07 and a 52 week high of $21.03.

Investar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. This is a positive change from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Investar’s payout ratio is 23.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Investar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday.

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.