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

Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBNC) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of 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 trading volume, of 166,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Horizon Bancorp Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of HBNC traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $16.11. 150,965 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 162,336. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The company’s 50 day moving average is $17.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.56. The company has a market capitalization of $704.25 million, a P/E ratio of 34.28 and a beta of 1.05. Horizon Bancorp has a 52 week low of $11.18 and a 52 week high of $19.18.

Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBNC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.04. Horizon Bancorp had a net margin of 5.89% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The business had revenue of $102.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Horizon Bancorp will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Horizon Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued 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 yield of 3.97%. Horizon Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 136.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in 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 valued at $4,222,000 after purchasing an additional 12,357 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 3.2% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 68,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $853,000 after buying an additional 2,120 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 67.6% in the 2nd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 124,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,538,000 after buying an additional 50,143 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 344.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 28,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 21,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 58,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $726,000 after buying an additional 3,209 shares during the last quarter. 64.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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