Wall Street brokers expect Investor Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) to report sales of $22.81 million for the current quarter, Zacks reports. Two analysts provided estimates for Investar’s earnings, with estimates ranging from $22.72 million to $22.90 million. Investar recorded sales of $22.00 million in the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year-over-year growth rate of 3.7%. The company is expected to release its next quarterly results on Thursday, April 28.

On average, analysts expect Investar to report annual sales of $94.16 million for the current year, with estimates ranging from $93.60 million to $94.72 million. For the next fiscal year, analysts expect the company to post sales of $99.90 million, with estimates ranging from $99.80 million to $100.00 million. Zacks sales averages are an average based on a survey of research companies that cover Investar.

Investar Inc (NASDAQ:ISTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 27. The financial services provider reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.56 for the quarter. Investar posted a net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 2.26%. The company had revenue of $23.15 million in the quarter.

A number of stock analysts have commented on ISTR shares. TheStreet upgraded Investar from a “b” rating to a “c” rating in a Friday, October 22 research note. Piper Sandler slashed shares of Investar from an ‘overweight’ rating to a ‘neutral’ rating and lowered her price target for the stock from $27.00 to $20.00 in a Friday research report October 15. Finally, Zacks Investment Research moved shares of Investar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a Wednesday, Feb. 2 research report.

Several hedge funds have recently changed their holdings in the company. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in shares of Investar by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 266,910 shares of the financial services provider valued at $4,914,000 after purchasing an additional 20,210 shares during the period. BHZ Capital Management LP bought a new equity stake in Investar during the fourth quarter at a value of $458,000. River Oaks Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Investar during the fourth quarter at a value of $1,711,000. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Investar by 67.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 39,789 shares of the financial services provider valued at $733,000 after acquiring an additional 16,086 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV acquired a new position in shares of Investar during the fourth quarter at a value of $1,459,000. Institutional investors hold 55.33% of the company’s shares.

ISTR stock opened at $19.75 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $204.27 million, a P/E ratio of 25.99 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $18.38. The company has a debt ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Investar has a 12-month low of $16.96 and a 12-month high of $23.69.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 31. Investors of record on Friday, December 31 received a dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 30. This represents an annualized dividend of $0.32 and a yield of 1.62%. Investar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.11%.

About Investar

Investar Holding Corp. is a financial holding company that provides comprehensive banking services. It offers a full suite of commercial and retail lending products across all of its market sectors, including small and medium business loans as well as personal loans. Its lending products consist of owner-occupied commercial real estate loans, construction loans, and commercial and industrial loans, such as term loans, equipment financing and lines of credit, while its individuals include first and second mortgages, installment loans and lines of credit.

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