Investar Holding (ISTR) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $164.87M
• Dividend Yield: 2.5%
• Average Volume (3M): 32.41K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 8.2
• Beta (1Y): 1.04
• Revenue Growth: 11.56%
• EPS Growth: 21.85%
• Country: US
• Employees: 327
• Sector: Financial
• Sector Strength: 85
• Industry: Banks - Regional
• EPS (TTM): 2.04
• Shares Outstanding: 9,825,633
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 39,708
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 32,405
• PEG Ratio: 0.38
• Price to Book (P/B): N/A
• Price to Sales (P/S): 2.16
• Price to Cash Flow (P/CF): -149.70
• P/FCF Ratio: 0.80
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: N/A
• 1Y Price Target: $21.00
• Price Target Upside: 26.51% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Hold
• Number of Analyst Covering: 1

Investar Holding demonstrates strong financial health with zero debt and efficient cash flow management, contributing positively to the score. However, the declining EBIT margin and bearish technical indicators, including a negative MACD and oversold RSI, present challenges. The attractive valuation with a low P/E ratio and reasonable dividend yield provides some support, balancing the overall stock assessment.

Investar Holding Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Investar Holding Corporation (ISTR) is a financial holding company primarily engaged in providing a broad range of commercial banking products and services. The company, through its subsidiary Investar Bank, offers personal and business banking solutions that include deposit services, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage lending, and other financial services. Investar Holding focuses on serving individuals, small to medium-sized businesses, and professionals across its operational regions.

How the Company Makes Money

Investar Holding Corporation generates revenue primarily through the interest income earned on loans and investment securities, which constitutes the largest portion of its income. The company also earns non-interest income from various sources, including service charges on deposit accounts, mortgage banking income, and fees for other financial services. Investar's strategic partnerships and local market presence help in building customer relationships, thereby contributing to its earnings. Additionally, the effective management of operating expenses and asset quality plays a crucial role in driving the company's profitability.

Investar Holding Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Investar Holding shows commendable financial standing with robust revenue growth and solid profitability, particularly reflected in its net profit margin. The balance sheet is strong with zero debt, enhancing financial stability. Cash flow management is efficient, ensuring liquidity and operational flexibility. However, attention should be given to the declining EBIT margin to ensure sustained operational efficiency.

Income Statement

Investar Holding has demonstrated a strong revenue growth trajectory, with a noticeable increase from $83 million in 2023 to $144 million in 2024, indicating a healthy growth rate. The gross profit and net income have also shown positive trends. However, the EBIT margin has significantly decreased from 40.24% in 2022 to 1.79% in 2024, presenting a potential area of concern regarding operational efficiency. The net profit margin improved to 14.08% in 2024, suggesting solid profitability, but the decreasing EBIT margin warrants attention.

Balance Sheet

The company's balance sheet reflects a stable financial structure with no total debt in 2024, significantly reducing leverage risks. The equity has increased to $241 million, enhancing the equity ratio to 8.86% of the total assets, which is a positive sign of financial health. The return on equity remains robust at 8.39%, indicating effective utilization of shareholder funds. However, the equity ratio could be improved further to strengthen financial stability.

Cash Flow

Investar Holding demonstrates strong cash flow management with a significant increase in free cash flow from $25 million in 2023 to $32 million in 2024, signaling healthy cash generation capabilities. The operating cash flow to net income ratio remains favorable at 1.61, suggesting efficient conversion of net income to cash. The free cash flow to net income ratio is also strong at 1.61, indicating effective cash flow management.

Breakdown
Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021	Dec 2020
Income Statement		Total Revenue
82.41M	83.06M	108.39M	96.26M	85.67M
	Gross Profit
143.87M	69.39M	95.71M	83.89M	74.70M
	EBIT
2.57M	33.42M	59.13M	9.91M	17.34M
	EBITDA
101.61M	0.00	48.78M	14.90M	21.91M
	Net Income Common Stockholders
20.25M	16.68M	35.71M	8.00M	13.89M
Balance Sheet		Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments
357.74M	390.20M	445.23M	452.05M	303.78M
	Total Assets
2.72B	2.82B	2.75B	2.51B	2.32B
	Total Debt
92.64M	288.95M	439.74M	129.87M	169.35M
	Net Debt
64.72M	256.94M	399.67M	33.33M	133.98M
	Total Liabilities
2.48B	2.59B	2.54B	129.87M	169.35M
	Stockholders Equity
241.30M	226.77M	215.78M	242.60M	243.28M
Cash Flow		Free Cash Flow
32.60M	25.18M	41.69M	30.16M	10.16M
	Operating Cash Flow
32.60M	26.25M	42.75M	33.48M	17.75M
	Investing Cash Flow
-1.17M	-73.49M	-350.99M	53.40M	-148.14M
	Financing Cash Flow
-31.33M	38.99M	251.46M	-25.21M	121.07M

Investar Holding Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 16.60
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For ISTR, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 16.6 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 17.27, below the 50-day MA of 18.17, and below the 200-day MA of 19.00, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -0.20 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 42.35 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 32.46 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for ISTR.

Investar Holding Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
HOMB	76 Outperform	$5.13B	12.85	10.38%	2.96%	8.83%	3.77%
OZK	76 Outperform	$4.41B	6.33	13.21%	4.16%	23.25%	4.64%
CUBI	75 Outperform	$1.43B	8.55	10.44%	―	-3.61%	-29.58%
SFBS	70 Neutral	$4.04B	17.79	14.87%	1.75%	16.28%	9.61%
Sector *	63 Neutral	$14.39B	9.81	8.95%	4.37%	16.38%	-11.64%
ISTR	62 Neutral	$164.87M	8.23	8.65%	2.50%	11.56%	21.85%

Investar Holding Corporate Events

Investar Holding Announces Board Resignation and Appointments

On January 15, 2025, Anita M. Fontenot announced her resignation from the Board of Directors of Investar Holding Corporation, effective January 20, 2025. Her decision was not due to any disagreements with the company’s operations, policies, or practices. On the same day, the board, following the Nominating and Governance Committee’s recommendation, appointed Julio A. Melara as chairman and Scott G. Ginn as vice-chairman of the Board’s Audit Committee, both effective January 20, 2025.