Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBNC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBNC) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 126,211 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 21% from the previous session’s volume of 159,388 shares.The stock last traded at $15.84 and had previously closed at $15.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HBNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Horizon Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Horizon Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Horizon Bancorp from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Hovde Group assumed coverage on Horizon Bancorp in a research note on Monday, September 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Horizon Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.00.

Horizon Bancorp Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $694.39 million, a P/E ratio of 29.39 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $15.33 and a 200 day moving average of $13.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. Horizon Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 5.50%. The company had revenue of $97.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Horizon Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Horizon Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Horizon Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 118.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Horizon Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HBNC. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 1,656.2% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 3,064 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Horizon Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $80,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in Horizon Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $133,000. Elser Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Horizon Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $137,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management grew its stake in Horizon Bancorp by 11.0% during the first quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 10,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. 64.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Horizon Bancorp Company Profile

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.