Horizon Bancorp (IN) (NASDAQ:HBNC) Short Interest Up 37.3% in December

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Horizon Bancorp (IN)

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HBNC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Horizon Bancorp (IN) by 9.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,012,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,238,000 after purchasing an additional 261,587 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp (IN) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,568,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,116,000 after buying an additional 75,462 shares during the last quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Horizon Bancorp (IN) by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,691,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,076,000 after buying an additional 200,000 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Horizon Bancorp (IN) in the 3rd quarter valued at about $24,842,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Horizon Bancorp (IN) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,096,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,868,000 after buying an additional 12,465 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.51% of the company’s stock.

Horizon Bancorp (IN) Stock Performance

Shares of HBNC traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $17.51. The stock had a trading volume of 415,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 358,912. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.38. Horizon Bancorp has a one year low of $12.70 and a one year high of $18.70. The firm has a market cap of $896.86 million, a PE ratio of -4.46 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Horizon Bancorp (IN) Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.