Horizon Bancorp (IN) (HBNC) Competitors

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

Do analysts rate HBNC or ABCB?

Horizon Bancorp (IN) presently has a consensus price target of $19.25, indicating a potential upside of 16.67%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus price target of $72.14, indicating a potential downside of 4.84%. 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)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Which has stronger earnings & 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	2.02	$35.43M	$1.17	14.10
Ameris Bancorp	$1.13B	4.62	$358.68M	$5.68	13.35

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 more risk and volatility, HBNC or ABCB?

Horizon Bancorp (IN) has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership 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. 2.5% 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 large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media favor HBNC or ABCB?

In the previous week, Horizon Bancorp (IN) had 2 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Horizon Bancorp (IN) and 7 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Horizon Bancorp (IN)'s average media sentiment score of 1.04 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 0.96 indicating that Horizon Bancorp (IN) is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Horizon Bancorp (IN)	5 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ameris Bancorp	4 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

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 3.9%. 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.

Summary

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