Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBNC) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBNC) saw a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 587,300 shares, a decrease of 8.4% from the November 30th total of 641,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 166,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Horizon Bancorp from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Horizon Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Horizon Bancorp in a research report on Monday, September 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company.

Horizon Bancorp Stock Performance

Horizon Bancorp stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $16.11. 150,965 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 162,336. The firm has a market cap of $704.25 million, a PE ratio of 34.28 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.56. Horizon Bancorp has a twelve month low of $11.18 and a twelve month high of $19.18.

Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $102.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.23 million. Horizon Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 5.89%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Horizon Bancorp will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Horizon Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Horizon Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 136.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Horizon Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP raised its position in Horizon Bancorp by 508.1% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,753 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 114.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 3,709 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 44.1% in the second quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 8,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,740 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Horizon Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $133,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Horizon Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $150,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.51% of the company’s stock.

Horizon Bancorp Company Profile

Horizon Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Horizon Bank that engages in the provision of commercial and retail banking services. The company offers checking, saving, money market, certificate of deposits, individual retirement accounts, and time deposits, as well as non-interest- and interest-bearing demand deposits.