MeritValue

Investar Holding Corp

ISTRdata completeness 75%14 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

Investar Holding Corp earns about 23% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 3% over 5 years — worth asking whether the growth reaches owners. The applicable estimate puts fair value near $19.47 a share.Whether it’s worth owning at today’s price is the last question — and yours to answer, below.

i. The business — what you’d actually own
FigureFY 2021FY 2022FY 2023FY 2024FY 2025
Revenue$95.5M1$104.6M2$133.2M3$143.9M3$144M3
Net income$8M4$35.7M5$16.7M6$20.3M6$22.9M6
Operating cash flow$33.5M7$42.7M8$26.2M9$15.9M9$18.2M9
Capital expenditure—————
Free cash flow (derived)—————
Total debt$9.8M10$9.8M11$9.8M12$9.8M13$9.8M14
Cash & equivalents—————
Diluted shares10.5M10.2M9.8M9.9M10.8M

Superscripts are receipts. Each links to the SEC filing the number came from (full list at the bottom).

ii. Your slice — ownership made literal
If you owned
shares
Net assets behind them
$279.37
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
$21.25
Free cash flow it threw off
—
Debt you’d be carrying
$9.09

10 shares is a claim on $279.37 of net worth that earned you $21.25 last year, against $9.09 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
23% avg · 5y
FY21 7%FY22 21%FY23 27%FY24 31%FY25 29%

It earned an average 23% on invested capital over 5 years. Compare that to what it costs to fund the business.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
+3% shares · 5y

Share count is up 3% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has held roughly steady.

reading capital allocation →

Signals, not verdicts — read from the filings above. Numbers don’t prove a moat; they show its footprint. You decide.

iv. What it’s worth — engine v0.1.0
DCF · Growth Exit 10Y
not applicable
only 0 years of FCF (need ≥3) — model not applicable
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
only 0 years of FCF (need ≥3) — model not applicable
Earnings Power Value
$19.47
assumptions (8)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • normalizedEarnings$20.3M
  • growthAssumed0.0%
Graham Number
$36.59
assumptions (1)
  • grahamMultiplier2250.0%

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-006962 (InterestAndDividendIncomeOperating)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-007226 (InterestAndDividendIncomeOperating)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-008446 (InterestAndDividendIncomeOperating)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-006962 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-007226 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-008446 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-006962 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-007226 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-008446 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001437749-22-005693 (LongTermDebt)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001437749-23-005810 (LongTermDebt)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001437749-24-006962 (LongTermDebt)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001437749-25-007226 (LongTermDebt)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2025-12-31 · accession 0001437749-26-008446 (LongTermDebt)