Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBNC) and Auburn National Bancorporation (NASDAQ:AUBN) Head-To-Head Survey

Auburn National Bancorporation (NASDAQ:AUBN) and Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBNC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, risk, earnings and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Auburn National Bancorporation and Horizon Bancorp’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Auburn National Bancorporation	$31.39 million	2.06	$1.39 million	$0.23	80.43
Horizon Bancorp	$324.30 million	1.82	$27.98 million	$0.54	24.78

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

Profitability

This table compares Auburn National Bancorporation and Horizon Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Auburn National Bancorporation	2.47%	1.13%	0.08%
Horizon Bancorp	7.02%	8.71%	0.78%

Risk and Volatility

Auburn National Bancorporation has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Horizon Bancorp has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

39.5% of Auburn National Bancorporation shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.5% of Horizon Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 24.4% of Auburn National Bancorporation shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Horizon Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Auburn National Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. Horizon Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Auburn National Bancorporation pays out 469.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Horizon Bancorp pays out 118.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Auburn National Bancorporation has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years and Horizon Bancorp has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Auburn National Bancorporation is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Auburn National Bancorporation and Horizon Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Auburn National Bancorporation	0	0	0	0	N/A
Horizon Bancorp	0	1	1	0	2.50

Horizon Bancorp has a consensus target price of $12.50, indicating a potential downside of 6.58%. Given Horizon Bancorp’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Horizon Bancorp is more favorable than Auburn National Bancorporation.

Summary

Horizon Bancorp beats Auburn National Bancorporation on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Auburn National Bancorporation

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for AuburnBank that provides various banking products and services in East Alabama. The company offers checking, savings, and transaction deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also provides commercial, financial, agricultural, real estate construction, and consumer loan products; and other financial services. In addition, the company offers automated teller services; debit cards; online banking, bill payment, and other electronic banking services; and safe deposit boxes. Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Auburn, Alabama.

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. 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.