Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Stock Crosses Above 50 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR)’s stock price passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.05 and traded as high as $23.59. Investar shares last traded at $23.59, with a volume of 25,132 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Investar Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $231.89 million, a P/E ratio of 13.18 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.79. 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 released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.12. Investar had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 6.94%. The company had revenue of $40.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.07 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Investar Holding Co. will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. This is a boost from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Investar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Investar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ISTR. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Investar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $57,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Investar by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 3,059 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Investar by 2,810.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 10,257 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Investar during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $185,000. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Investar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $272,000. Institutional investors own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

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.