Horizon Bancorp (IN) (NASDAQ:HBNC) Short Interest Update

Horizon Bancorp (IN) (NASDAQ:HBNC) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,233,401 shares, a drop of 14.9% from the January 15th total of 1,449,277 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 399,656 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 399,656 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Horizon Bancorp (IN)

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Horizon Bancorp (IN) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,189,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,093,000 after buying an additional 176,448 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Horizon Bancorp (IN) by 3.0% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,568,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,116,000 after purchasing an additional 75,462 shares during the period. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Horizon Bancorp (IN) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,812,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,746,000 after purchasing an additional 121,651 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Horizon Bancorp (IN) in the third quarter valued at approximately $24,842,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in Horizon Bancorp (IN) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,480,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,111,000 after purchasing an additional 245,416 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Horizon Bancorp (IN) from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Horizon Bancorp (IN) from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Horizon Bancorp (IN) in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.33.

Horizon Bancorp (IN) Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HBNC remained flat at $18.10 during midday trading on Wednesday. The stock had a trading volume of 69,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 340,074. The stock has a market cap of $927.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.74 and a beta of 0.83. Horizon Bancorp has a one year low of $12.70 and a one year high of $19.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.70.

Horizon Bancorp (IN) (NASDAQ:HBNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $64.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.35 million. Horizon Bancorp (IN) had a positive return on equity of 11.56% and a negative net margin of 37.12%. Equities analysts expect that Horizon Bancorp will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Horizon Bancorp (IN) Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. Horizon Bancorp (IN)’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -20.32%.

About Horizon Bancorp (IN)

Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ: HBNC) is a financial holding company headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, offering community banking and wealth management services through its subsidiary, Horizon Bank. As a locally focused institution, it provides a full range of retail and commercial banking products, including checking and savings accounts, consumer and mortgage lending, commercial real estate financing, and treasury management solutions.

In addition to traditional deposit and loan products, Horizon Bancorp’s services encompass investment advisory and trust administration, retirement planning, and insurance products.