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what it is
Investar runs a regional bank that takes deposits, makes loans, and earns the spread between the two.
how it gets paid
Last year Investar made $144M in revenue. Commercial real estate loans was the main engine at $50.4M, or 35% of sales.
what just happened
The clean takeaway is that quarterly EPS reached $0.61 in Q4 2024, lifting full-year EPS to $2.04.
At a glance
B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely
45/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
12.6x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
1.6% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
$2.04 fy2024 eps est
xvary composite: 53/100 — below average
What they do
Investar runs a regional bank that takes deposits, makes loans, and earns the spread between the two.
This is a plain regional bank with 29 branches across Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas. Plain is the point. When your business and personal accounts sit in one local bank, moving them is annoying, slow, and risky for your cash flow. That stickiness helps a 327-employee bank keep deposits and lend against them.
How they make money
$144M
annual revenue
Commercial real estate loans
$50.4M
Commercial and industrial loans
$28.8M
Mortgage and consumer loans
$25.9M
Deposit fees and treasury services
$20.2M
Construction loans
$18.7M
The products that matter
makes loans
Commercial & Consumer Loans
$2.1B net loans
It holds $2.1B in net loans, or roughly 75% of its $2.8B asset base. That is where the earnings come from and where the credit risk lives.
core asset base
gathers funding
Deposit & Treasury Services
$2.4B deposits
It holds $2.4B in deposits. In human-speak: customers are funding the loan book, which is usually cheaper and stickier than leaning on wholesale funding.
funding engine
keeps customers from leaving
Digital & Online Banking
supports the $2.4B deposit base
This is not the growth fantasy. It helps defend the deposit base against larger banks with better apps, bigger ad budgets, and more room to pay up for customers.
retention tool
Key numbers
$2.04
2024 EPS
That is full-year earnings per share. Plain English: each share got $2.04 of profit in 2024, versus $1.69 in 2023.
12.6x
trailing p/e
P/E ratio → how many dollars you pay for one dollar of profit → so what: you are paying 12.6 years of trailing earnings for this bank.
$101M
long-term debt
Debt is 22% of capital. Plain English: leverage exists, but it is not screaming crisis from this data alone.
1.6%
dividend yield
That is a small cash payout, so your return here depends more on profit growth than on income checks.
Financial health
B
strength
- balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 55 / 100
- long-term debt $101M (22% of capital)
B — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for ISTR right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
The clean takeaway is that quarterly EPS reached $0.61 in Q4 2024, lifting full-year EPS to $2.04.
Quarterly EPS improved from $0.36 in Q4 2023 to $0.61 in Q4 2024. Full-year EPS rose from $1.69 in 2023 to $2.04 in 2024, which says earnings recovered even if revenue detail is messy.
$107M
revenue
$0.61
eps
n/a
n/a
the number that mattered
The number that mattered was $2.04 in full-year EPS, because it turned a 2023 drop into a 2024 recovery while the stock stayed near 12.6x earnings.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
your main risk is simple: the $112.9M Wichita Falls deal adds complexity faster than it adds earnings. For a bank this size, that is enough to change the whole stock story.
high
Texas deal execution
A $112.9M acquisition is meaningful next to a $366M market cap. If customer retention slips, costs stay elevated, or earnings do not move above the current $2.04 baseline, the deal stops looking like expansion and starts looking like self-inflicted complexity.
directly tied to the new market entry story
med
Loan-book stress
Net loans are $2.1B against $2.8B in total assets. That is normal bank structure. It also means credit trouble reaches the income statement quickly if the local economy weakens or underwriting slips during expansion.
most of the balance sheet is exposed to lending outcomes
med
Deposit competition
The bank has $2.4B in deposits funding the franchise. That is the good news. The bad news is bigger regional and national banks want those same balances, and they have more room to spend on rate promotions, apps, and customer acquisition.
pressures funding costs and margin durability
low
Thin margin for error
The appeal here is that 12.6x earnings looks inexpensive. Cheap banks stay cheap when investors think the next move will muddy the numbers. If margin falls from 24.5% while debt moves above the current $101M, the valuation stops looking conservative and starts looking descriptive.
valuation only helps if the underlying earnings stay credible
If the Texas acquisition raises complexity without lifting earnings, the market is left with a 12.6x bank that deserved to be cheap.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
deal risk
Wichita Falls Bancshares integration
The $112.9M deal is large relative to the size of the company. If you own ISTR, this is the first thing to watch because it can improve the franchise or complicate it.
calendar
Q1 2026 results
The next earnings report is estimated for April 22, 2026. You want the first clean read on deposit costs, loan growth, and any obvious integration noise.
insider signal
Director buying near $26.85
Robert Chris Jordan bought about $41K of shares at roughly $26.85 in March 2026. One buy does not make a thesis, but it is more useful than management saying it feels good about the plan.
core metric
Margin versus debt
The setup today is a 24.5% net margin and $101M in long-term debt. If margin slips while debt rises, the cheap multiple is telling you something unpleasant.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
45 / 100
This sits below average. in human-speak, analysts do not see this as a smooth earnings story.
risk rank
3
Middle-of-the-pack safety. You are not buying a bunker. You are also not buying the messiest bank on the board.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for ISTR is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$27
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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