Comparing Fvcbankcorp (NASDAQ:FVCB) and Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR)

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

Profitability

This table compares Fvcbankcorp and Investar’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fvcbankcorp	18.08%	8.84%	0.96%
Investar	14.92%	9.20%	0.86%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Fvcbankcorp and Investar, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fvcbankcorp	0	1	2	0	2.67
Investar	0	2	1	0	2.33

Fvcbankcorp currently has a consensus price target of $18.00, suggesting a potential upside of 15.76%. Investar has a consensus price target of $29.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1.05%. Given Fvcbankcorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Fvcbankcorp is more favorable than Investar.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Fvcbankcorp and Investar”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fvcbankcorp	$122.03 million	2.29	$22.06 million	$1.21	12.85
Investar	$153.48 million	2.57	$22.90 million	$2.14	13.41

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

Volatility and Risk

Fvcbankcorp has a beta of 0.36, indicating that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Investar has a beta of 0.51, indicating that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Fvcbankcorp pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Investar pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Fvcbankcorp pays out 19.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Investar pays out 20.6% 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. Fvcbankcorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

43.6% of Fvcbankcorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.2% of Investar shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.9% of Fvcbankcorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.8% of Investar shares are owned by company 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.

Summary

Investar beats Fvcbankcorp on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fvcbankcorp

FVCBankcorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for FVCbank that provides various banking products and services in Virginia. It offers deposit products, including interest and noninterest-bearing transaction accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial real estate loans; commercial construction loans; commercial loans for various business purposes, such as for working capital, equipment purchases, lines of credit, and government contract financing; small business administration loans; asset-based loans and accounts receivable financing; home equity loans; and consumer loans. In addition, it offers business and consumer credit cards; merchant services; business insurance products; and online banking, remote deposit, and mobile banking services. The company serves commercial businesses, nonprofit organizations, professional service entities, and their respective owners and employees located in the greater Washington, D.C., and Baltimore metropolitan areas. It operates branch offices in Arlington, Virginia; the independent city of Manassas, Virginia; Reston, Fairfax County, Virginia; Springfield, Fairfax County in Virginia; and Montgomery County and Baltimore in Maryland, and Washington, D.C. FVCBankcorp, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia.

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.