Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Upgraded at Piper Sandler

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) was upgraded by equities researchers at Piper Sandler from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $22.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 29.56% from the company’s current price.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Investar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th.

Investar Price Performance

NASDAQ ISTR opened at $16.98 on Tuesday. Investar has a 1 year low of $14.60 and a 1 year high of $24.81. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $17.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.00. The company has a market cap of $166.76 million, a PE ratio of 8.32 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.29. Investar had a net margin of 12.81% and a return on equity of 8.00%. The firm had revenue of $20.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.90 million. On average, analysts predict that Investar will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rhino Investment Partners Inc raised its stake in Investar by 383.8% during the 4th quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 145,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,194,000 after purchasing an additional 115,387 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Investar by 55.3% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 191,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,196,000 after buying an additional 68,027 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Investar by 42.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 228,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,026,000 after buying an additional 67,695 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in Investar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $651,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Investar by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 98,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 27,254 shares during the period. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.