Exhibit 99.1

For Immediate Release

Investar Holding Corporation Announces 2016 First Quarter Results

BATON ROUGE, LA (April 28, 2016) – Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: ISTR) (the “Company”), the holding company for Investar Bank (the “Bank”), today announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2016. The Company reported net income of $2.0 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, compared to $1.5 million, or $0.20 per diluted share for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, and $2.0 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2015.

Investar Holding Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer John D’Angelo said:

“We are very pleased with our first quarter results. We were able to maintain consistent loan growth while continuing to focus on credit quality. A significant portion of our loan growth during the quarter can be attributed to the new commercial lenders hired at the end of 2015. These lenders have focused on moving customers with whom they have had long-term relationships, which has not only had an impact on loan growth but has also contributed to our growth in noninterest-bearing deposits. While pleased with the loan growth during the quarter, our focus remains on credit quality, as evidenced by our passing on over $40 million of loan opportunities during the quarter.

The Bank monitors on an ongoing basis the economic environment in which it operates and continues to focus on the current and potential impacts of low oil and gas prices in our markets. Less than one percent of our loan portfolio is directly exposed to the energy sector and we continue to experience a low and improving delinquency rate across our portfolio.

As we look to 2016, we believe our company is solidly positioned to grow the franchise and increase shareholder value as we continue to focus on quality loans and deposits while controlling noninterest expense and maintaining our focus on improving our return on assets and efficiency ratios.”

First Quarter Highlights

Loans

Total loans were $797.6 million at March 31, 2016, an increase of $52.2 million, or 7.0 %, compared to December 31, 2015, and an increase of $151.2 million, or 23.4%, compared to March 31, 2015.

The following table sets forth the composition of the Company’s loan portfolio as of the dates indicated (dollars in thousands).

Consumer loans, including consumer loans held for sale, totaled $160.0 million at March 31, 2016, a decrease of $36.0 million, or 18.4% from $196.0 million at December 31, 2015. The decrease is mainly attributable to the sale of approximately $22.0 million of consumer loans held for sale during the first quarter of 2016. During the quarter ended December 31, 2015, the Bank announced that it was exiting the indirect auto loan origination business, the source of its consumer loans held for sale. The Bank discontinued accepting indirect auto loan applications on December 31, 2015, but continued to process and fund applications that were accepted on or before that date. As a result, the consumer loans held for sale balance is expected to decrease as the Bank sells the loans currently held for sale. The Bank currently has the intent and ability to sell the balance of the consumer loans classified as held for sale at March 31, 2016, however, if this classification were to change, the loans would be transferred to the consumer loan portfolio.

At March 31, 2016, the Company’s total business lending portfolio, which consists of loans secured by owner-occupied commercial real estate properties and commercial and industrial loans, was $216.6 million, an increase of $8.9 million, or 4.3%, compared to the business lending portfolio of $207.7 million at December 31, 2015.

The provision for loan loss expense was $0.5 million for the first quarter of 2016, a decrease of $0.2 million compared to the first quarter of 2015. The allowance for loan losses was $6.5 million, or 279.8% and 0.81% of nonperforming loans and total loans, respectively, at March 31, 2016, compared to $6.1 million, or 254.2% and 0.82% of nonperforming loans and total loans, respectively, at December 31, 2015. The allowance for loan losses plus the fair value marks on acquired loans was 0.90% of total loans at March 31, 2016 compared to 0.91% at December 31, 2015. Nonperforming loans to total loans improved to 0.29% at March 31, 2016 compared to 0.32% at December 31, 2015.

As low oil and gas prices continue to make headlines, management continues to monitor the Company’s loan portfolio for exposure to potential negative impacts. We consider our exposure to the energy sector not to be significant, at less than one percent of the total loan portfolio at March 31, 2016. However, should the price of oil and gas decline further and/or remain at the current low price for an extended period, the general economic conditions in our south Louisiana markets could be negatively affected and could negatively impact borrowers’ ability to service their debt. Management continually evaluates the allowance for loan losses based on several factors, including economic conditions, and currently believes that any potential negatively affected future cash flows related to these loans would be covered by the current allowance for loan losses.

Deposits

Total deposits at March 31, 2016 were $808.7 million, an increase of $71.3 million, or 9.7%, from December 31, 2015. The increase in total deposits was driven by an increase in noninterest-bearing deposits of $4.6 million, or 5.1%, an increase in money market accounts of $8.8 million, or 9.2%, and an increase in time deposits of $61.2 million, or 17.2%, from December 31, 2015.

The Company’s focus on relationship banking, as well as management’s focus on growing the commercial and industrial loan portfolio and bringing in related deposits, continues to positively impact noninterest-bearing demand deposit growth.

The following table sets forth the composition of the Company’s deposits as of the dates indicated (dollars in thousands).

Net Interest Income

Net interest income for the first quarter of 2016 totaled $8.5 million, an increase of $0.3 million, or 3.9%, compared to the fourth quarter of 2015, and an increase of $1.0 million, or 14.0%, compared to the first quarter of 2015. The increase was a direct result of continued growth of the Company’s loan portfolio with an increase in net interest income of $1.4 million due to an increase in volume offset by a $0.4 million decrease related to a reduction in yield compared to the first quarter of 2015.

The Company’s net interest margin was 3.47% for the quarter ended March 31 , 2016 compared to 3.53% for the fourth quarter of 2015 and 3.71% for the first quarter of 2015. The yield on interest-earning assets was 4.21% for the quarter ended March 31 , 2016 compared to 4.24% for the fourth quarter of 2015 and 4.35% for the first quarter of 2015.

The cost of deposits increased four basis points for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 compared to the fourth quarter of 2015, and increased seven basis points compared to the first quarter of 2015. The increase is primarily a result of increases in time deposit rates.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income for the first quarter of 2016 totaled $1.3 million, a decrease of $0.3 million, or 18.1%, compared to the fourth quarter of 2015, and a decrease of $1.3 million, or 49.3%, compared to the first quarter of 2015. The decrease in noninterest income is mainly attributable to the $0.2 million and $1.4 million decreases in gain on sale of loans when compared to the quarters ended December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2015, respectively. As discussed in Loans above, d uring the quarter ended December 31, 2015, the Bank announced that it was exiting the indirect auto loan origination business, the source of its consumer loans held for sale. As a result, the Bank has experienced decreased loan sales and has ceased originations of consumer loans held for sale. The Bank does intend to sell the balance of the consumer loans held for sale at March 31, 2016, however, it expects the gain on sale of loans to diminish over time.

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense for the first quarter of 2016 totaled $6.4 million, a decrease of $0.9 million, or 11.8%, compared to the fourth quarter of 2015, and a decrease of $40,000, or 0.6%, compared to the first quarter of 2015. The decrease in noninterest expense from the fourth quarter of 2015 is primarily due to the $0.5 million decrease in salaries and employee benefits and the $0.3 million decrease in other operating expenses. These decreases are mainly attributable to the nonrecurring costs related to the exit from the indirect auto loan origination business recorded in the fourth quarter of 2015 which included severance for the indirect auto lending staff affected and other expenses. In addition, the Company realized unfavorable health care claims experience during the fourth quarter of 2015 resulting in additional benefits expense of $0.3 million.

Basic Earnings Per Share and Diluted Earnings Per Share

The Company reported both basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.28 for the three months ended March 31 , 2016, an increase of $0.01, compared to basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.27 for the three months ended March 31, 2015.

Taxes

The Company recorded income tax expense of $1.0 million for the quarter ended March 31 , 2016, which equates to an effective tax rate of 33.6%.

About Investar Holding Corporation

Investar Holding Corporation, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, provides full banking services, excluding trust services, through its wholly-owned banking subsidiary, Investar Bank, a state chartered bank. The Company’s primary market is South Louisiana and it currently operates 11 full service banking offices located throughout its market. At March 31 , 2016, the Company had 154 full-time equivalent employees.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release contains financial information determined by methods other than in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America, or GAAP. These measures and ratios include “tangible common equity,” “tangible assets,” “tangible equity to tangible assets,” and “tangible book value per common share.” Management believes these non-GAAP financial measures provide information useful to investors in understanding the Company’s financial results, and the Company believes that its presentation, together with the accompanying reconciliations, provide a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting the Company’s business and allow investors to view performance in a manner similar to management, the entire financial services sector, bank stock analysts and bank regulators. These non-GAAP measures should not be considered a substitute for GAAP basis measures and results, and the Company strongly encourages investors to review its consolidated financial statements in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure. Because non-GAAP financial measures are not standardized, it may not be possible to compare these financial measures with other companies’ non-GAAP financial measures having the same or similar names. A reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures disclosed in this press release to the comparable GAAP financial measures is included at the end of the financial statement tables.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release c o ntai n s forward- l ooking s t a t eme n ts wit h in t h e mean i ng of t h e Priva t e Securities Lit i gati o n Ref o rm Act of 1 9 95 that reflect the Company’s current views w i t h res p ec t t o , amo n g ot h er th i ngs , fu t u re e v e n t s a n d f i nancia l pe r f o r mance . T h e C o m p any ge n eral l y i d entifies forward-l o ok i ng statemen t s by termi n ol o g y such as “outlook,” “believes,” “expects,” “ potential,” “continue s,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “ s hould,” “seek s ,” “approximately,” “pred i ct s ,” “intends,” “plan s ,” “esti m ates,” “anticipates,” or the ne g ative ve rs io n of th o s e w o rd s o r o t he r compa r abl e wo r ds . A n y f o rwa r d - lo oking s t atem e nts contained in this press relea s e are based on t he h i s t o r ica l pe r f o r ma n c e o f t h e Compa n y a n d i t s subs i dia r ie s o r on the Company’s cur r ent plan s , estimates and expectation s . The i n clusi o n of thi s forward-lo o ki n g i n f o rmati o n s h oul d n ot be re g arded as a repres e ntation by the Company that the future plans, estimates or e x pecta t ions by t h e Compa n y will be ach i eved. S u ch forward-lo o k i n g statemen t s are sub j ect t o vari o u s r i sks a n d uncerta i n t i es and assump t i ons relat i ng to t h e Compan y ’ s operati o ns, fina n cial results, fi n ancial co n d i t io n , business p r ospects, g ro w t h st ra teg y a n d li q ui d it y . If o ne o r mo re of t h es e or o t he r r isk s o r unce r tai n tie s ma t e r i a l ize , or i f th e C o m p any ’s u nde r l y in g as s ump t io n s prove to be incorrect, the Company ’ s actual r es u lts m ay v ary m ate ri ally f r om t h os e indicated in these s t atement s . The Company d oes n ot un d er t a k e an y o b li g ati o n t o p u bl i c l y u p dat e or re v ise an y f o r wa r d- l oo k in g s t ateme n t , w het h er a s a re s u l t o f ne w i n fo rm atio n, f ut u r e deve l opmen t s or ot h e r w ise . A n u m b e r o f impo r tan t f act o rs cou l d cause ac t ual results to d i ffer materially from t h ose in d icated b y th e f or w ar d -l o ok i n g sta t ements. These factors include, but are not limi t ed to, the fol l ow i ng, any one or more of which co u l d mater i ally affect t h e o u t c ome of future events:

• o ur ab i li ty to ac hi eve o rg a n ic loan a n d dep o sit g r ow t h , a n d th e comp o s i ti o n o f t ha t g r ow t h ;

• t h e exte n t o f co n ti n ui n g cl i e n t de ma n d f o r th e h ig h leve l o f pe rs onal i ze d se r vic e t ha t i s a ke y e l emen t o f ou r ba n ki n g

approa c h a s well as our abili t y to execute our strate g y general ly ;

• o ur de p e nde n c e on ou r man agement team, and our abili t y to attract and retain q u al i f ied personnel;

• inaccuracy of the assumptions and estimat e s we make in establishing reserves for p r obable loan lo s ses and other estimates;

• the concentration of ou r b u s i ne s s wi t hi n o u r ge og raphic areas of operat i on in L o uisia n a; and

• concentration of credit exposure.

These factors should not be con s tru e d as exha u s tive . Ad d it i ona l i n f o rmati o n on thes e an d ot h er ris k f acto rs ca n b e fo u n d i n I t em 1 A. “Risk Factor s ” and Item 7. “Special Note Rega r di n g Fo r wa r d-L o ok i n g S t atement s ” i n t h e C ompan y ’ s A nn u a l Re p o rt on Fo rm 1 0-K for the year end e d December 31, 2015, f i led wi t h the Secu r ities and Exchange Commission.

For further information contact:

Investar Holding Corporation

Chris Hufft

Chief Financial Officer

(225) 227-2215

Chris.Hufft@investarbank.com