Insider Buying: Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) Director Buys $200,688.00 in Stock

Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) Director Scott G. Ginn purchased 8,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.68 per share, with a total value of $200,688.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 8,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $200,688. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Investar Price Performance

Shares of ISTR opened at $24.17 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $21.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.20. Investar Holding Co. has a 1-year low of $10.38 and a 1-year high of $24.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.59 million, a PE ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 0.76.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.12. Investar had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 11.35%. The business had revenue of $40.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.07 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Investar Holding Co. will post 1.64 EPS for the current year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Investar’s dividend payout ratio is 23.46%.

Institutional Trading of Investar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Investar by 14.3% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 99,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 12,412 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Investar in the first quarter worth about $504,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Investar by 36.3% in the first quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 214,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,509,000 after buying an additional 57,178 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in Investar by 24.8% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 23,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 4,614 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Investar by 111.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 48,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $740,000 after acquiring an additional 25,330 shares during the period. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Investar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

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.