Horizon Bancorp (IN) (NASDAQ:HBNC) & American Bank (OTCMKTS:AMBK) Head to Head Survey

American Bank (OTCMKTS:AMBK) and Horizon Bancorp (IN) (NASDAQ:HBNC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

American Bank has a beta of -0.07, suggesting that its stock price is 107% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Horizon Bancorp (IN) has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares American Bank and Horizon Bancorp (IN)”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Bank	$59.94 million	2.41	$13.54 million	$2.20	10.36
Horizon Bancorp (IN)	$405.46 million	2.54	-$150.48 million	($3.18)	-6.31

American Bank has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Horizon Bancorp (IN). Horizon Bancorp (IN) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares American Bank and Horizon Bancorp (IN)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Bank	22.84%	N/A	N/A
Horizon Bancorp (IN)	-36.38%	13.52%	1.40%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

64.5% of Horizon Bancorp (IN) shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Horizon Bancorp (IN) shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

American Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Horizon Bancorp (IN) pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. American Bank pays out 29.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Horizon Bancorp (IN) pays out -20.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Horizon Bancorp (IN) is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for American Bank and Horizon Bancorp (IN), as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Bank	0	0	0	0	0.00
Horizon Bancorp (IN)	0	3	2	0	2.40

Horizon Bancorp (IN) has a consensus target price of $22.33, suggesting a potential upside of 11.33%. Given Horizon Bancorp (IN)’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Horizon Bancorp (IN) is more favorable than American Bank.

Summary

Horizon Bancorp (IN) beats American Bank on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About American Bank

American Bank Incorporated operates as the bank holding company for American Bank that provides various banking products and services to consumer, business, institutional, and governmental customers. It accepts a range of interest-bearing checking and money market accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company also offers commercial, industrial, and other loans; commercial mortgage loans; commercial construction loans; residential mortgage loans; and consumer loans, including personal term loans, personal credit lines, automobile loans, home equity loans, and home equity lines of credit and loans. In addition, it provides online or mobile banking, automated teller machine, safe deposit box rental, and wire transfer services, as well as sells checks and checkbooks, and purchases investment securities. The company operates an office located in Allentown, Pennsylvania; and a loan production office in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1997 and is based in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

About Horizon Bancorp (IN)

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. It also provides commercial, residential real estate, mortgage, home equity, auto, personal, business, agricultural, and SBA loans, as well as credit cards. In addition, the company offers corporate and individual trust and agency, investment management, and real estate investment trust services; debit cards; treasury management; online and mobile banking; wealth, retirement, and estate and trust services; and sells various insurance products. It operates through full-service offices in northern and central Indiana and southern and central Michigan. Horizon Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in Michigan City, Indiana.