Investar Holding closes Wichita Falls Bancshares acquisition

Investar Holding ( (ISTR) ) has issued an update.

On January 1, 2026, Investar Holding Corporation completed its acquisition of Wichita Falls Bancshares, Inc., parent of First National Bank in Wichita Falls, Texas, under a July 2025 merger agreement in a stock-and-cash transaction valued at about $112.9 million based on Investar’s December 31, 2025 share price. All Wichita Falls shares were converted into $7.2 million in cash and 3,955,334 Investar common shares, and Investar assumed $9.3 million of junior subordinated debentures supporting $9.0 million of trust preferred securities, as well as a $10.0 million note to TIB, N.A., which the company expects to repay in full in January 2026; the trust preferred securities are intended to qualify as Tier 1 capital at the holding company level. As part of the deal, effective January 1, 2026, former Wichita Falls and FNB directors David Flack and James Dunkerley joined the boards of Investar and Investar Bank as independent directors and were assigned to key board committees, reflecting a governance integration aimed at leveraging their relationships in the north Dallas and Wichita Falls markets. The transaction extends Investar’s community banking footprint into the north Dallas and Wichita Falls regions, adds a franchise with $1.2 billion in assets, $1.0 billion in net loans and $1.0 billion in deposits as of December 31, 2025, and advances its multi-state expansion strategy by significantly increasing its Texas presence and balance sheet scale for shareholders and other stakeholders.

The most recent analyst rating on (ISTR) stock is a Hold with a $29.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Investar Holding stock, see the ISTR Stock Forecast page.

Spark’s Take on ISTR Stock

According to Spark, TipRanks’ AI Analyst, ISTR is a Neutral.

Investar Holding’s strong financial performance and bullish technical indicators are the primary drivers of its stock score. The reasonable valuation supports the stock’s attractiveness. However, the potential risks from the merger-related lawsuits and operational cash flow challenges slightly temper the overall outlook.

To see Spark’s full report on ISTR stock, click here.

More about Investar Holding

Investar Holding Corporation, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a bank holding company that provides full banking services, excluding trust services, through its wholly owned subsidiary Investar Bank, National Association. As of September 30, 2025, the bank operated 29 branches across Louisiana, Texas and Alabama, employed 326 full-time equivalent staff and reported total assets of $2.8 billion, positioning it as a growing regional community banking franchise in the U.S. Gulf South and adjacent markets.

Average Trading Volume: 40,277

Technical Sentiment Signal: Buy

Current Market Cap: $262.8M

For a thorough assessment of ISTR stock, go to TipRanks’ Stock Analysis page.