Investar (ISTR) Competitors $22.22 +0.20 (+0.91%) As of 12:51 PM Eastern Add Compare Share Share Competitors Stock AnalysisAnalyst ForecastsChartCompetitorsDividendEarningsHeadlinesInsider TradesOwnershipSEC FilingsShort InterestSustainabilityTrendsBuy This Stock ISTR vs. AMTB, MCB, BFST, NBN, MCBS, NBBK, EQBK, XYF, VEL, and IBCPShould you be buying Investar stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of Investar include Amerant Bancorp (AMTB), Metropolitan Bank (MCB), Business First Bancshares (BFST), Northeast Bancorp (NBN), MetroCity Bankshares (MCBS), NB Bancorp (NBBK), Equity Bancshares (EQBK), X Financial (XYF), Velocity Financial (VEL), and Independent Bank (IBCP). These companies are all part of the "banking" industry. Investar vs. Its Competitors Amerant Bancorp Metropolitan Bank Business First Bancshares Northeast Bancorp MetroCity Bankshares NB Bancorp Equity Bancshares X Financial Velocity Financial Independent Bank Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) and Amerant Bancorp (NASDAQ:AMTB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and risk. Does the media favor ISTR or AMTB? In the previous week, Investar had 3 more articles in the media than Amerant Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for Investar and 1 mentions for Amerant Bancorp. Amerant Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.67 beat Investar's score of 0.83 indicating that Amerant Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media. Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment Investar 3 Very Positive mention(s) 0 Positive mention(s) 0 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Positive Amerant Bancorp 1 Very Positive mention(s) 0 Positive mention(s) 0 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Very Positive Which has more volatility & risk, ISTR or AMTB? Investar has a beta of 0.56, meaning that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Amerant Bancorp has a beta of 1.31, meaning that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of ISTR or AMTB? 50.2% of Investar shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.1% of Amerant Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 8.8% of Investar shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Amerant Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term. Do analysts prefer ISTR or AMTB? Investar presently has a consensus price target of $27.00, indicating a potential upside of 21.51%. Amerant Bancorp has a consensus price target of $24.60, indicating a potential upside of 23.99%. Given Amerant Bancorp's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Amerant Bancorp is more favorable than Investar.Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Investar 0 Sell rating(s) 0 Hold rating(s) 1 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 3.00Amerant Bancorp 0 Sell rating(s) 3 Hold rating(s) 2 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.40 Which has stronger valuation & earnings, ISTR or AMTB? Investar has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Amerant Bancorp. Amerant Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Investar, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings RatioInvestar$83.23M2.63$20.25M$2.1910.15Amerant Bancorp$317.91M2.61-$15.75M-$0.60-33.07 Is ISTR or AMTB a better dividend stock? Investar pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Amerant Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Investar pays out 20.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Amerant Bancorp pays out -60.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Investar has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Investar is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth. Is ISTR or AMTB more profitable? Investar has a net margin of 13.99% compared to Amerant Bancorp's net margin of -8.38%. Investar's return on equity of 8.60% beat Amerant Bancorp's return on equity.Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Investar13.99% 8.60% 0.75% Amerant Bancorp -8.38%6.36%0.51% SummaryInvestar beats Amerant Bancorp on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks. Get Investar News Delivered to You Automatically Sign up to receive the latest news and ratings for ISTR and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter. Email Address New MarketBeat Followers Over TimeWhat are MarkeBeat Followers?This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding ISTR and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period. Skip ChartMedia Sentiment Over TimeWhat is Media Sentiment?This chart shows the average media sentiment of NASDAQ and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.Skip Chart ISTR vs. The Competition Export to ExcelMetricInvestarBANKS IndustryFinance SectorNASDAQ ExchangeMarket Cap$218.76M$1.98B$11.87B$8.93BDividend Yield1.96%2.62%5.53%4.04%P/E Ratio10.1512.4920.0220.17Price / Sales2.632.6825.7594.17Price / Cash10.1012.5018.7228.59Price / Book0.911.222.265.60Net Income$20.25M$154.64M$990.84M$248.41M7 Day Performance8.71%2.10%0.98%6.03%1 Month Performance14.95%6.62%3.79%7.70%1 Year Performance44.01%30.20%540.71%20.86% Investar Competitors List Export to ExcelCompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)ISTRInvestar4.8681 of 5 stars$22.22+0.9%$27.00+21.5%+47.0%$218.76M$83.23M10.15340AMTBAmerant Bancorp3.9432 of 5 stars$18.16+0.4%$24.60+35.5%-12.8%$759.62M$317.91M-31.86680MCBMetropolitan Bank2.5533 of 5 stars$70.25+0.2%$77.00+9.6%+79.2%$747.70M$492.21M11.89240BFSTBusiness First Bancshares3.4879 of 5 stars$24.65-0.1%$31.00+25.8%+25.8%$732.58M$458.96M10.14750News CoverageAnalyst ForecastNBNNortheast Bancorp2.5664 of 5 stars$88.99+0.8%$97.50+9.6%+61.9%$724.62M$263.77M9.90180Positive NewsHigh Trading VolumeMCBSMetroCity Bankshares2.9248 of 5 stars$28.58+0.6%$34.00+19.0%+16.8%$721.40M$235.98M11.12220Positive NewsNBBKNB Bancorp3.0958 of 5 stars$17.86+0.4%$22.00+23.2%+24.6%$721.34M$304.05M15.14342Positive NewsEQBKEquity Bancshares4.3085 of 5 stars$40.80-1.1%$46.60+14.2%+27.5%$714.61M$225.03M10.25700Upcoming EarningsHigh Trading VolumeXYFX Financial2.7892 of 5 stars$17.38+5.0%N/A+336.3%$691.46M$804.43M3.62420News CoveragePositive NewsVELVelocity Financial2.0198 of 5 stars$18.52-1.5%$21.33+15.2%+0.3%$686.41M$135.80M9.55220News CoverageHigh Trading VolumeIBCPIndependent Bank3.0263 of 5 stars$32.41-0.6%$36.67+13.1%+33.0%$675.92M$323.14M10.32920Positive News Related Companies and Tools Related Companies Amerant Bancorp Alternatives Metropolitan Bank Alternatives Business First Bancshares Alternatives Northeast Bancorp Alternatives MetroCity Bankshares Alternatives NB Bancorp Alternatives Equity Bancshares Alternatives X Financial Alternatives Velocity Financial Alternatives Independent Bank Alternatives Top 10 Stock Comparisons Semiconductor Stocks Artificial Intelligence Stocks Growth Stocks Magnificent Seven Stocks Pharmaceutical Stocks Ecommerce Stocks Bitcoin Stocks Meme Stocks Cryptocurrency Stocks Cybersecurity Stocks This page (NASDAQ:ISTR) was last updated on 7/8/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff From Our PartnersYour Bank Account Is No Longer SafeWhat If Washington Declared That: YOUR Money ISN'T Actually Yours? 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