Wall Street Zen Upgrades Horizon Bancorp (IN) (NASDAQ:HBNC) to “Buy”

Horizon Bancorp (IN) (NASDAQ:HBNC) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

HBNC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Horizon Bancorp (IN) from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Horizon Bancorp (IN) in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Horizon Bancorp (IN) from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.33.

Horizon Bancorp (IN) Stock Down 0.7%

NASDAQ HBNC opened at $15.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $809.95 million, a P/E ratio of -5.02 and a beta of 0.82. Horizon Bancorp has a 52 week low of $12.70 and a 52 week high of $19.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $17.30 and a 200-day moving average of $16.82.

Horizon Bancorp (IN) (NASDAQ:HBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $64.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.35 million. Horizon Bancorp (IN) had a positive return on equity of 11.77% and a negative net margin of 37.12%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Horizon Bancorp will post 1.78 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Horizon Bancorp (IN)

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HBNC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Horizon Bancorp (IN) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,189,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,093,000 after acquiring an additional 176,448 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Horizon Bancorp (IN) by 3.0% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,568,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,116,000 after purchasing an additional 75,462 shares during the period. PL Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Horizon Bancorp (IN) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,812,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,746,000 after purchasing an additional 121,651 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Horizon Bancorp (IN) in the third quarter valued at approximately $24,842,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Horizon Bancorp (IN) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,480,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,111,000 after purchasing an additional 245,416 shares in the last quarter. 64.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Horizon Bancorp (IN) Company Profile

Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ: HBNC) is a financial holding company headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, offering community banking and wealth management services through its subsidiary, Horizon Bank. As a locally focused institution, it provides a full range of retail and commercial banking products, including checking and savings accounts, consumer and mortgage lending, commercial real estate financing, and treasury management solutions.

In addition to traditional deposit and loan products, Horizon Bancorp’s services encompass investment advisory and trust administration, retirement planning, and insurance products.