Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on ISTR. Weiss Ratings raised Investar from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $31.50 target price on shares of Investar in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Investar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Investar currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $31.50.

Investar Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:ISTR opened at $28.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.86 and its 200-day moving average is $28.26. The company has a market cap of $399.50 million, a P/E ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 0.45. Investar has a 52-week low of $20.99 and a 52-week high of $31.77.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.18. Investar had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 16.53%.The business had revenue of $35.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.40 million. Equities research analysts predict that Investar will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Investar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ISTR. Fourthstone LLC boosted its position in shares of Investar by 148.7% during the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 695,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,597,000 after acquiring an additional 416,145 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Investar by 240.9% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 123,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,361,000 after purchasing an additional 87,095 shares in the last quarter. AlTi Global Inc. bought a new position in Investar during the first quarter worth about $2,370,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Investar during the first quarter worth about $2,017,000. Finally, Glass Wealth Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in Investar during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,816,000. 50.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.