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

Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBNC) saw a large 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 daily volume of 166,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Horizon Bancorp Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Horizon Bancorp stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $16.11. 150,965 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 162,336. The firm has a market cap of $704.25 million, a P/E ratio of 34.28 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. Horizon Bancorp has a 52-week low of $11.18 and a 52-week 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $102.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.23 million. Horizon Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 5.89%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Horizon Bancorp will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Horizon Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

HBNC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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 Horizon Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Horizon Bancorp in a report on Monday, September 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company.

Institutional Trading of Horizon Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HBNC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 6.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,276,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,160,000 after acquiring an additional 135,217 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Horizon Bancorp by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,053,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,387,000 after purchasing an additional 52,423 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 478,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,915,000 after buying an additional 50,666 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 6.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 350,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,458,000 after buying an additional 22,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 3.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 341,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,222,000 after buying an additional 12,357 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.