Horizon Bancorp (IN) (HBNC) Competitors

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

Is HBNC or ABCB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Horizon Bancorp (IN)'s net margin of 12.27%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat Horizon Bancorp (IN)'s return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Horizon Bancorp (IN)	12.27%	9.56%	0.92%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Do insiders & institutionals believe in HBNC or ABCB?

64.5% of Horizon Bancorp (IN) shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.8% of Horizon Bancorp (IN) shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility and risk, HBNC or ABCB?

Horizon Bancorp (IN) has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

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 4.1%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Horizon Bancorp (IN) pays out 62.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.8% 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.

Does the media prefer HBNC or ABCB?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 1 more articles in the media than Horizon Bancorp (IN). MarketBeat recorded 2 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 1 mentions for Horizon Bancorp (IN). Horizon Bancorp (IN)'s average media sentiment score of 1.89 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 1.39 indicating that Horizon Bancorp (IN) is being referred to more favorably in the media.

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

Do analysts rate HBNC or ABCB?

Horizon Bancorp (IN) currently has a consensus target price of $17.33, suggesting a potential upside of 10.33%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus target price of $71.43, suggesting a potential upside of 6.14%. Given Horizon Bancorp (IN)'s higher possible upside, 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)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, 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	1.92	$35.43M	$1.02	15.40
Ameris Bancorp	$1.12B	4.13	$358.68M	$5.40	12.46

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Horizon Bancorp (IN) on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.