Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBNC) Short Interest Up 20.7% in March

Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBNC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 664,700 shares, an increase of 20.7% from the February 28th total of 550,500 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 169,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Horizon Bancorp Stock Down 4.3 %

NASDAQ:HBNC opened at $14.61 on Thursday. Horizon Bancorp has a 52 week low of $11.18 and a 52 week high of $19.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $16.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $642.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83.

Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.03). Horizon Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.48% and a net margin of 9.86%. Research analysts anticipate that Horizon Bancorp will post 1.78 EPS for the current year.

Horizon Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. Horizon Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 80.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Horizon Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 362.6% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in Horizon Bancorp by 508.1% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,753 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Horizon Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on HBNC. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Horizon Bancorp from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Horizon Bancorp from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

About Horizon Bancorp

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.