Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 5,686 Shares of Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBNC)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBNC) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 117,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,686 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.27% of Horizon Bancorp worth $1,886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HBNC. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 22,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 2,464 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Horizon Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 27,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 5,499 shares during the period. AMI Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $192,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 106,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,658,000 after acquiring an additional 28,999 shares during the period. 64.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HBNC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Horizon Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Horizon Bancorp from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Horizon Bancorp from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Horizon Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HBNC opened at $17.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $751.98 million, a P/E ratio of 21.50 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. Horizon Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.18 and a 1-year high of $19.18.

Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, Inc. will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Horizon Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. Horizon Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.00%.

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.