Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBNC) Short Interest Down 8.4% in December

Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBNC) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 587,300 shares, a drop 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 presently 3.5 days. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Horizon Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Horizon Bancorp stock traded up $0.05 on Wednesday, hitting $16.11. 150,965 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 162,336. Horizon Bancorp has a 52 week low of $11.18 and a 52 week high of $19.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.56. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $704.25 million, a P/E ratio of 34.28 and a beta of 1.05.

Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $102.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. Research analysts expect that Horizon Bancorp will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Horizon Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 is currently 136.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Horizon Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meritage Portfolio Management raised its holdings in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 19,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Horizon Bancorp by 7.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,703 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in Horizon Bancorp by 508.1% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,753 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 68,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $853,000 after buying an additional 2,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 44.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 8,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 2,740 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.