Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBNC)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBNC) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,628 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Horizon Bancorp worth $1,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,276,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,160,000 after purchasing an additional 135,217 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 478,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,915,000 after acquiring an additional 50,666 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 67.6% during the 2nd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 124,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,538,000 after buying an additional 50,143 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Horizon Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $446,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $432,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.51% of the company’s stock.

Horizon Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of HBNC opened at $18.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $789.93 million, a PE ratio of 38.38 and a beta of 1.03. Horizon Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.65 and a 1 year high of $18.85.

Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.04. Horizon Bancorp had a net margin of 5.89% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The company had revenue of $102.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Horizon Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Horizon Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Horizon Bancorp’s payout ratio is 136.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Horizon Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Hovde Group started coverage on Horizon Bancorp in a research report on Monday, September 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Horizon Bancorp from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Horizon Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.00.

Horizon Bancorp Company Profile

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.