Critical Survey: NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) versus Horizon Bancorp (IN) (NASDAQ:HBNC)

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

Profitability

This table compares NBT Bancorp and Horizon Bancorp (IN)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NBT Bancorp	16.10%	9.81%	1.10%
Horizon Bancorp (IN)	13.84%	10.21%	1.02%

Dividends

NBT Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Horizon Bancorp (IN) pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. NBT Bancorp pays out 53.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Horizon Bancorp (IN) pays out 54.7% 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. NBT Bancorp has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for NBT Bancorp and Horizon Bancorp (IN), as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NBT Bancorp	0	4	2	0	2.33
Horizon Bancorp (IN)	0	2	2	0	2.50

NBT Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $52.00, indicating a potential upside of 32.42%. Horizon Bancorp (IN) has a consensus price target of $19.67, indicating a potential upside of 30.76%. Given NBT Bancorp’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe NBT Bancorp is more favorable than Horizon Bancorp (IN).

Risk & Volatility

NBT Bancorp has a beta of 0.54, suggesting that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Horizon Bancorp (IN) has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

58.5% of NBT Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.5% of Horizon Bancorp (IN) shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.0% of NBT Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.5% of Horizon Bancorp (IN) shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares NBT Bancorp and Horizon Bancorp (IN)”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NBT Bancorp	$619.42 million	3.32	$140.64 million	$2.77	14.18
Horizon Bancorp (IN)	$359.45 million	1.85	$35.43 million	$1.17	12.85

NBT Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Horizon Bancorp (IN). Horizon Bancorp (IN) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NBT Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

NBT Bancorp beats Horizon Bancorp (IN) on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NBT Bancorp

NBT Bancorp Inc., a financial holding company, provides commercial banking, retail banking, and wealth management services. Its deposit products include demand deposit, savings, negotiable order of withdrawal, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts. The company's loan portfolio comprises indirect and direct consumer, home equity, mortgages, business banking loans, and commercial loans; commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, agricultural, and commercial construction loans; and residential real estate loans. It also provides trust and investment services; financial planning and life insurance services; and retirement plan administration and recordkeeping services. In addition, the company offers insurance products comprising personal property and casualty, business liability, and commercial insurance, as well as other products and services through 24-hour online, mobile, and telephone channels that enable customers to check balances, make deposits, transfer funds, pay bills, access statements, apply for loans, and access various other products and services. Further, it operates as a property management and passive investment company, as well as investment advisor that provides investment management and financial consulting services. The company operates in upstate New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Hampshire, western Massachusetts, Vermont, southern Maine, and central and northwestern Connecticut. NBT Bancorp Inc. was founded in 1856 and is headquartered in Norwich, New York.

About Horizon Bancorp (IN)

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. It also provides commercial, residential real estate, mortgage, home equity, auto, personal, business, agricultural, and SBA loans, as well as credit cards. In addition, the company offers corporate and individual trust and agency, investment management, and real estate investment trust services; debit cards; treasury management; online and mobile banking; wealth, retirement, and estate and trust services; and sells various insurance products. It operates through full-service offices in northern and central Indiana and southern and central Michigan. Horizon Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in Michigan City, Indiana.