Short Interest in Horizon Bancorp (IN) (NASDAQ:HBNC) Increases By 37.3%

Horizon Bancorp (IN) (NASDAQ:HBNC) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,619,378 shares, a growth of 37.3% from the December 15th total of 1,179,740 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 469,345 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 469,345 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Horizon Bancorp (IN)

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HBNC. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Horizon Bancorp (IN) in the third quarter valued at about $24,842,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Horizon Bancorp (IN) by 1,202.2% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 593,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,496,000 after acquiring an additional 547,561 shares during the period. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp (IN) in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,004,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp (IN) by 452.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 363,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,820,000 after acquiring an additional 297,799 shares during the period. Finally, FJ Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Horizon Bancorp (IN) during the third quarter worth $4,237,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HBNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Horizon Bancorp (IN) in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Horizon Bancorp (IN) in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Horizon Bancorp (IN) from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.67.

Horizon Bancorp (IN) Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of HBNC traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $17.51. The company had a trading volume of 415,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 358,912. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $896.81 million, a PE ratio of -4.46 and a beta of 0.82. Horizon Bancorp has a one year low of $12.70 and a one year high of $18.70. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $17.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.37.

Horizon Bancorp (IN) (NASDAQ:HBNC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $59.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.34 million. Horizon Bancorp (IN) had a negative net margin of 51.01% and a positive return on equity of 10.01%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Horizon Bancorp will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Horizon Bancorp (IN) Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. Horizon Bancorp (IN)’s payout ratio is -16.28%.

Horizon Bancorp (IN) Company Profile

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.