Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR – Get Free Report) and Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
50.2% of Investar shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.9% of Oak Valley Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.7% of Investar shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 19.3% of Oak Valley Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Investar and Oak Valley Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Investar | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Oak Valley Bancorp | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Investar and Oak Valley Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Investar | $82.41 million | 2.21 | $20.25 million | $2.04 | 9.08 |
| Oak Valley Bancorp | $76.59 million | 2.98 | $24.95 million | $3.02 | 9.03 |
Oak Valley Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Investar. Oak Valley Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Investar, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Investar and Oak Valley Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Investar | 12.81% | 8.00% | 0.67% |
| Oak Valley Bancorp | 28.03% | 14.28% | 1.35% |
Risk and Volatility
Investar has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oak Valley Bancorp has a beta of 0.33, meaning that its share price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Investar pays an annual dividend of $0.42 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Oak Valley Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Investar pays out 20.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Oak Valley Bancorp pays out 19.9% 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. Oak Valley Bancorp has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years.
Summary
Oak Valley Bancorp beats Investar on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Investar
Investar Holding Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Investar Bank that provides a range of commercial banking products to individuals, professionals, and small to medium-sized businesses in south Louisiana, southeast Texas, and Alabama in the United States. The company offers various deposit products and services, such as savings, checking, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as various certificates of deposit; debit and credit cards; internet, mobile, and video banking services; and reciprocal deposit products. It also provides commercial real estate loans; commercial and industrial loans, including working capital lines of credit and equipment loans; loans for the construction of commercial projects, and single family residential and multifamily properties; one-to-four family residential real estate loans, such as second mortgage loans; and consumer loans, such as secured and unsecured installment and term loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, and auto loans, as well as loans for personal, family, and household purposes. In addition, the company offers treasury management products, including remote deposit capture, lockbox payment processing, virtual vault, positive pay, ACH origination, wire transfer, investment sweep accounts, and business internet banking services. Further, it provides various other banking services, such as cashiers' checks, direct deposit of payroll and social security checks, night depository, bank-by-mail, automated teller machines, electronic statements, interactive teller machines, online account opening, and mobile wallet payment services. Investar Holding Corporation was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
About Oak Valley Bancorp
Oak Valley Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Oak Valley Community Bank that provides a range of commercial banking services to individuals and small to medium-sized businesses in the Central Valley and the Eastern Sierras. The company's deposits products include checking and savings, money market, health savings, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also offers commercial real estate loans, commercial business lending and trade finance, and small business administration lending, as well as consumer loans, including automobile loans, home mortgages, credit lines, and other personal loans. In addition, the company provides online and mobile banking, remote deposit capture, merchant, night depository, extended hours, wire transfer of funds, note collection services, and automated teller machines. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Oakdale, California.
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