Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBNC) Trading Up 5.6% - Here's What Happened

Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBNC - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 5.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $15.99 and last traded at $15.96. 26,440 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 159,459 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.11.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HBNC. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Horizon Bancorp from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Horizon Bancorp in a report on Monday, September 30th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Horizon Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Horizon Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Horizon Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.00.

Horizon Bancorp Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $706.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.67 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.70.

Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. Horizon Bancorp had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 8.17%. The firm had revenue of $97.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Horizon Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Horizon Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Horizon Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 118.52%.

Institutional Trading of Horizon Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning increased its position in Horizon Bancorp by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 55,679 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $866,000 after purchasing an additional 4,155 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $414,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Horizon Bancorp by 114.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 3,709 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Horizon Bancorp by 34.6% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 21,556 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 5,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Horizon Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.51% of the company's stock.

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.