Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBNC) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBNC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $19.06 and last traded at $18.99, with a volume of 32762 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HBNC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Horizon Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Horizon Bancorp in a research report on Monday, September 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Horizon Bancorp from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Horizon Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.00.

Horizon Bancorp Trading Up 1.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $822.37 million, a P/E ratio of 39.41 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $16.24 and a 200-day moving average of $14.57.

Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBNC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.04. Horizon Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 5.89%. The company had revenue of $102.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Horizon Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Horizon Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Horizon Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 136.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Horizon Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Horizon Bancorp by 46.7% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $199,000 after buying an additional 4,943 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 1,749 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 10,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Horizon Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $80,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Horizon Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $446,000. Institutional investors own 64.51% of the company’s stock.

About Horizon Bancorp

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.