Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.26 EPS

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.26, Zacks reports. Investar had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 11.35%.

Investar Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of ISTR opened at $19.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 0.81. Investar has a 1 year low of $14.60 and a 1 year high of $24.81. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Investar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Investar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Investar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Insider Transactions at Investar

In other Investar news, Director Scott G. Ginn acquired 8,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $23.68 per share, with a total value of $200,688.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $200,688. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 8.73% 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.