Horizon Bancorp (IN) (NASDAQ:HBNC) Short Interest Down 21.7% in August

Key Points

• Horizon Bancorp saw a significant 21.7% decrease in short interest in August, with the total dropping to 485,200 shares by the end of the month.
• Equities analysts have raised their price targets for Horizon Bancorp, with Stephens increasing it from $19.00 to $22.00 and maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• The company's stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.25 from market analysts.

Horizon Bancorp (IN) (NASDAQ:HBNC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 485,200 shares, a decrease of 21.7% from the August 15th total of 619,600 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 289,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 289,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Horizon Bancorp (IN) Price Performance

NASDAQ:HBNC traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $16.34. 85,880 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 216,543. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock's 50-day moving average is $16.01 and its 200-day moving average is $15.30. The firm has a market cap of $720.37 million, a PE ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 0.86. Horizon Bancorp has a twelve month low of $12.70 and a twelve month high of $19.18.

Horizon Bancorp (IN) (NASDAQ:HBNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.03. Horizon Bancorp (IN) had a return on equity of 10.21% and a net margin of 13.84%.The business had revenue of $66.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.45 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Horizon Bancorp will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Horizon Bancorp (IN) Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Horizon Bancorp (IN)'s payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Horizon Bancorp (IN) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 24,665 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 792 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Horizon Bancorp (IN) by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 24,844 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 941 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH increased its stake in Horizon Bancorp (IN) by 7.6% during the second quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 14,089 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management increased its stake in Horizon Bancorp (IN) by 5.5% during the first quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 23,491 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Horizon Bancorp (IN) by 7.2% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 28,372 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 1,905 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on HBNC. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Horizon Bancorp (IN) from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Horizon Bancorp (IN) from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Horizon Bancorp (IN) from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Horizon Bancorp (IN) from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.25.

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.