Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Investar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Investar in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.50.

Investar Price Performance

Shares of ISTR stock opened at $31.10 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $30.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.89. Investar has a 1-year low of $21.43 and a 1-year high of $31.77. The company has a market cap of $428.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.04. Investar had a return on equity of 11.65% and a net margin of 17.55%.The company had revenue of $36.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.35 million. On average, research analysts expect that Investar will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Investar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ISTR. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Investar by 645.8% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 4,566 shares during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in Investar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $212,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Investar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $230,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Investar by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 57,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,732,000 after buying an additional 7,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Investar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,086,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

About Investar

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.