Horizon Bancorp (IN) (HBNC) Competitors

Horizon Bancorp (IN) (NASDAQ:HBNC) and Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, media sentiment and dividends.

Is HBNC or ABCB a better dividend stock?

Horizon Bancorp (IN) pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Horizon Bancorp (IN) pays out 54.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Which has more risk and volatility, HBNC or ABCB?

Horizon Bancorp (IN) has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is HBNC or ABCB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Horizon Bancorp (IN)'s net margin of 13.84%. Horizon Bancorp (IN)'s return on equity of 10.21% beat Ameris Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Horizon Bancorp (IN)	13.84%	10.21%	1.02%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Which has better earnings and valuation, HBNC or ABCB?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Horizon Bancorp (IN). Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Horizon Bancorp (IN), indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Horizon Bancorp (IN)	$359.45M	1.87	$35.43M	$1.17	13.00
Ameris Bancorp	$1.13B	4.41	$358.68M	$5.68	12.76

Do analysts recommend HBNC or ABCB?

Horizon Bancorp (IN) currently has a consensus target price of $19.67, suggesting a potential upside of 29.30%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus target price of $72.14, suggesting a potential downside of 0.42%. Given Horizon Bancorp (IN)'s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Horizon Bancorp (IN) is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Horizon Bancorp (IN)	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Does the media prefer HBNC or ABCB?

In the previous week, Horizon Bancorp (IN) had 4 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for Horizon Bancorp (IN) and 0 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Horizon Bancorp (IN)'s average media sentiment score of 0.62 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 0.00 indicating that Horizon Bancorp (IN) is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Horizon Bancorp (IN)	Positive
Ameris Bancorp	Neutral

Do insiders & institutionals believe in HBNC or ABCB?

64.5% of Horizon Bancorp (IN) shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 2.5% of Horizon Bancorp (IN) shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Horizon Bancorp (IN) on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.