Black Maple Capital Management LP Has $308,000 Stock Position in Investar Holding Corporation $ISTR

Black Maple Capital Management LP lowered its stake in shares of Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR) by 67.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32,582 shares during the quarter. Black Maple Capital Management LP’s holdings in Investar were worth $308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fourthstone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Investar during the second quarter worth approximately $584,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Investar by 72.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 58,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 24,451 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Investar by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 63,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,279,000 after purchasing an additional 11,660 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Investar by 46.9% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 17,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 5,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Investar by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 58,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after buying an additional 3,757 shares during the last quarter. 50.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Investar Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:ISTR opened at $27.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Investar Holding Corporation has a 12-month low of $15.39 and a 12-month high of $27.42. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $266.64 million, a P/E ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 0.55.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported ($1.06) earnings per share for the quarter. Investar had a net margin of 14.87% and a return on equity of 9.38%. The company had revenue of $25.46 million during the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that Investar Holding Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Investar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a yield of 190.0%. Investar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Investar to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Investar in a research report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Investar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $29.00.

About Investar

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.