Short Interest in Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBNC) Increases By 20.7%

Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBNC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 664,700 shares, an increase of 20.7% from the February 28th total of 550,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 169,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HBNC. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Horizon Bancorp by 362.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 508.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,753 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Horizon Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Horizon Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.51% of the company’s stock.

Horizon Bancorp Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of HBNC traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $15.14. 73,341 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 163,416. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.37 and a 200-day moving average of $16.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $666.39 million, a PE ratio of 18.93 and a beta of 1.05. Horizon Bancorp has a 1-year low of $11.18 and a 1-year high of $19.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83.

Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBNC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.03). Horizon Bancorp had a net margin of 9.86% and a return on equity of 8.48%. Analysts expect that Horizon Bancorp will post 1.78 EPS for the current year.

Horizon Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Horizon Bancorp’s payout ratio is 80.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on HBNC shares. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Horizon Bancorp from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Horizon Bancorp from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

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.