Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.26 EPS

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) released its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.26, Zacks reports. Investar had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 11.35%.

Investar Stock Performance

ISTR stock opened at $19.84 on Friday. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $22.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.97. Investar has a fifty-two week low of $14.60 and a fifty-two week high of $24.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.00 million, a PE ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 0.81.

Investar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.105 dividend. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Investar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Investar news, Director Scott G. Ginn bought 8,475 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.68 per share, with a total value of $200,688.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 8,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,688. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded 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.