Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) & Bridgewater Bancshares (NASDAQ:BWB) Head-To-Head Survey

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) and Bridgewater Bancshares (NASDAQ:BWB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

50.2% of Investar shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.8% of Bridgewater Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.6% of Investar shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 23.1% of Bridgewater Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Investar and Bridgewater Bancshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Investar	$119.80 million	3.51	$22.90 million	$2.43	12.57
Bridgewater Bancshares	$292.76 million	2.01	$46.09 million	$1.84	11.48

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

Risk and Volatility

Investar has a beta of 0.45, meaning that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bridgewater Bancshares has a beta of 0.58, meaning that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Investar and Bridgewater Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Investar	17.55%	11.65%	1.14%
Bridgewater Bancshares	18.38%	11.21%	0.95%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Investar and Bridgewater Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Investar	0	2	1	0	2.33
Bridgewater Bancshares	0	1	4	0	2.80

Investar presently has a consensus price target of $31.50, suggesting a potential upside of 3.09%. Bridgewater Bancshares has a consensus price target of $23.67, suggesting a potential upside of 12.05%. Given Bridgewater Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Bridgewater Bancshares is more favorable than Investar.

Summary

Bridgewater Bancshares beats Investar on 9 of the 14 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 Bridgewater Bancshares

Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Bridgewater Bank that provides banking products and services to commercial real estate investors, entrepreneurs, business clients, and individuals in the United States. The company provides savings and money market accounts, demand deposits, time and brokered deposits, and interest and noninterest bearing transaction, as well as certificates of deposit. It offers commercial loans to sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and other business enterprises to finance working capital, capital investment, or for other business related purposes; paycheck protection program loans; construction and land development loans; 1-4 family mortgage loans; multifamily lending products; owner and non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans; and consumer and other loans. In addition, the company online, mobile, and direct banking services. Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Saint Louis Park, Minnesota.