Investar Holding Corporation $ISTR Holdings Lowered by Banc Funds Co. LLC

Banc Funds Co. LLC reduced its stake in Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR) by 22.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 371,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 109,804 shares during the period. Investar accounts for approximately 1.5% of Banc Funds Co. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Banc Funds Co. LLC owned approximately 3.78% of Investar worth $8,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ISTR. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Investar by 19.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Investar by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Investar by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 139,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Investar by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 13,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Investar by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 1,182 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

Investar Trading Down 0.9%

Investar stock opened at $26.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $260.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 0.52. Investar Holding Corporation has a 1 year low of $15.39 and a 1 year high of $31.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $28.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $23.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.35 million. Investar had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 14.92%. On average, research analysts predict that Investar Holding Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Investar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. Investar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.56%.

Insider Activity at Investar

In related news, CEO John J. D’angelo sold 26,163 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.01, for a total value of $732,825.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 242,750 shares in the company, valued at $6,799,427.50. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 8.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ISTR. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Investar in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised Investar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.00.

Investar 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.