Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) Short Interest Up 12.3% in September

Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 236,200 shares, a growth of 12.3% from the September 15th total of 210,400 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 54,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Investar by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 251,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,869,000 after acquiring an additional 31,589 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 57,178 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Investar by 14.3% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 99,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,625,000 after buying an additional 12,412 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Investar by 111.4% during 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 buying an additional 25,330 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Investar by 7.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $745,000 after buying an additional 3,325 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.17% of the company’s stock.

Investar Stock Performance

NASDAQ ISTR traded up $0.43 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $20.86. 2,813 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 43,417. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.78. Investar has a 12-month low of $9.07 and a 12-month high of $20.86. The business has a 50 day moving average of $18.27 and a 200-day moving average of $16.88.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.06. Investar had a net margin of 10.04% and a return on equity of 6.69%. The company had revenue of $38.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Investar will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. This is a positive change from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Investar’s payout ratio is presently 23.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Investar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Investar Company Profile

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.