Investar (ISTR) Competitors

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) and Old Second Bancorp (NASDAQ:OSBC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, risk and valuation.

Do analysts recommend ISTR or OSBC?

Investar currently has a consensus price target of $27.00, suggesting a potential upside of 22.95%. Old Second Bancorp has a consensus price target of $20.50, suggesting a potential upside of 9.92%. Given Investar's higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Investar is more favorable than Old Second Bancorp.

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)	3.00
Old Second Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Does the media prefer ISTR or OSBC?

In the previous week, Old Second Bancorp had 3 more articles in the media than Investar. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Old Second Bancorp and 2 mentions for Investar. Old Second Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.55 beat Investar's score of 0.96 indicating that Old Second Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Investar	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Old Second Bancorp	4 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 and risk, ISTR or OSBC?

Investar has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Old Second Bancorp has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, ISTR or OSBC?

Old Second Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Investar. Investar is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Old Second Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Investar	$158.07M	1.37	$20.25M	$2.19	10.03
Old Second Bancorp	$341.72M	2.46	$85.26M	$1.83	10.19

Is ISTR or OSBC a better dividend stock?

Investar pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Old Second Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Investar pays out 20.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Old Second Bancorp pays out 13.1% 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 and Old Second Bancorp has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Investar is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is ISTR or OSBC more profitable?

Old Second Bancorp has a net margin of 24.52% compared to Investar's net margin of 13.99%. Old Second Bancorp's return on equity of 12.87% beat Investar's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Investar	13.99%	8.60%	0.75%
Old Second Bancorp	24.52%	12.87%	1.50%

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of ISTR or OSBC?

50.2% of Investar shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.8% of Old Second Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 8.8% of Investar shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.8% of Old Second Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Old Second Bancorp beats Investar on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.