Investar Holding Stock Price, News & Analysis

Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: ISTR) is a financial holding company that operates in the commercial banking industry through its wholly-owned banking subsidiary, Investar Bank, National Association. According to company disclosures, Investar is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and provides full banking services, excluding trust services. The bank focuses on community banking and serves customers through multiple branch locations and banking channels.

Investar’s core activities center on commercial and retail banking. Based on its public statements, the company offers business loans to small and medium-sized businesses and loans to individuals throughout its market areas. Its business lending portfolio includes loans secured by owner-occupied commercial real estate properties and commercial and industrial loans. The company also maintains a portfolio of mortgage loans on real estate, including construction and development, 1-4 family, multifamily, and farmland loans, as well as a smaller consumer loan portfolio.

On the funding side, Investar gathers deposits across several categories, including noninterest-bearing demand deposits, interest-bearing demand deposits, money market deposits, savings deposits, time deposits, and brokered time deposits. Management commentary in earnings releases emphasizes an ongoing effort to optimize the mix of deposits and other funding sources, including allowing higher-cost time deposits and brokered deposits to run off while growing lower-cost, non-maturing and demand deposits.

Investar has articulated a strategy of growth through both organic expansion and acquisitions. The company has described a multi-state expansion strategy and, in its public communications, highlights its community banking orientation, with an emphasis on personal service and local relationships. In July 2025, Investar announced a definitive agreement to acquire Wichita Falls Bancshares, Inc., the holding company for First National Bank in Wichita Falls, Texas, and related capital raising through a private placement of its 6.5% Series A Non-Cumulative Perpetual Convertible Preferred Stock. The merger agreement provided for Wichita Falls Bancshares, Inc. to merge with and into Investar, with Investar as the surviving corporation, and for First National Bank to merge with and into Investar Bank.

Subsequently, Investar reported that it obtained the necessary shareholder and regulatory approvals for this transaction and, in a January 2026 press release, announced the completion of the acquisition of Wichita Falls Bancshares, Inc. The company stated that this transaction expands its footprint into the north Dallas and Wichita Falls markets and represents continued execution of its multi-state expansion strategy. First National Bank, chartered in 1986, operated as a full-service community bank with branches and mortgage offices in north Texas and served a range of customers, including small business owners and various public-sector entities. Following completion of the acquisition, Investar indicated that First National Bank would transition to the Investar Bank name while retaining experienced local staff.

Investar also undertook a capital raise associated with this expansion. In mid-2025, the company completed a private placement of its 6.5% Series A Non-Cumulative Perpetual Convertible Preferred Stock, with aggregate gross proceeds of $32.5 million. According to Investar’s filings and press releases, the net proceeds are intended to support the acquisition of Wichita Falls Bancshares, Inc. and for general corporate purposes, including organic growth and other potential acquisitions. The company later filed a registration statement to register the resale of common stock issuable upon conversion of this preferred stock and reported that the related registration statement had been declared effective.

In its periodic earnings releases, Investar describes a strategy focused on “consistent, quality earnings through the optimization of our balance sheet.” Management commentary highlights efforts to improve net interest margin by growing the yield on interest-earning assets while reducing funding costs. Actions described include shortening the duration of liabilities, redeeming subordinated debt, adjusting the mix of deposits and short-term borrowings, and replacing higher-cost funding with lower-cost wholesale or deposit funding. The company also reports on the composition and performance of its loan portfolio, including the proportion of variable-rate loans, and notes that it seeks to progress toward an interest rate neutral balance sheet.

Credit quality metrics and allowance for credit losses are recurring themes in Investar’s public communications. The company provides detail on nonperforming loans as a percentage of total loans, the level of the allowance for credit losses relative to nonperforming and total loans, and the drivers of its provision for credit losses, including loan growth, changes in economic forecasts, loan mix, and recoveries. In one instance, Investar reported a significant recovery related to a loan relationship that became impaired as a result of Hurricane Ida, which contributed to a negative provision for credit losses in that period.

Investar also returns capital to common shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. The company has announced a series of quarterly cash dividends on its common stock and has noted the number of consecutive quarterly dividends paid. In addition, Investar has declared quarterly dividends on its 6.5% Series A Non-Cumulative Perpetual Convertible Preferred Stock, describing the dividend rate and payment schedule. The company’s earnings releases also discuss repurchases of common shares under its stock repurchase program, including the number of shares repurchased and the average repurchase price, and reference book value and tangible book value per common share as of various quarter-ends.

From a governance and corporate structure perspective, Investar’s SEC filings describe its status as a Louisiana corporation with securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The company has disclosed changes in its independent registered public accounting firm, including the resignation of its prior auditor following that firm’s combination with another accounting firm and the appointment of a new independent registered public accounting firm with the approval of the audit committee. Investar has also reported on shareholder votes related to the Wichita Falls Bancshares, Inc. merger and has filed supplemental proxy disclosures in connection with shareholder litigation challenging aspects of the merger proxy statement.

Investar’s operations are conducted through branch locations and digital channels. In its public “About Investar” description, the company notes that Investar Bank operates branch locations serving south Louisiana, southeast Texas, and southwest Alabama, and that it provides full banking services, excluding trust services. First National Bank, acquired through Wichita Falls Bancshares, Inc., contributed additional branches and mortgage offices in north Texas and a customer base that includes both private and public-sector entities. Investar also references online and mobile banking platforms in describing the services offered by First National Bank prior to the acquisition.

Overall, Investar Holding Corporation presents itself, through its public disclosures, as a community-oriented commercial banking organization that combines traditional branch-based service with digital banking capabilities. Its strategy, as described in earnings releases and merger-related communications, emphasizes balance sheet optimization, credit quality, shareholder returns through dividends and repurchases, and growth through targeted acquisitions and expansion into new geographic markets.