Financial Comparison: Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) and Horizon Bancorp (IN) (NASDAQ:HBNC)

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

Volatility and Risk

Horizon Bancorp (IN) has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eastern Bankshares has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Horizon Bancorp (IN)	-37.12%	11.56%	1.17%
Eastern Bankshares	8.32%	8.25%	1.19%

Dividends

Horizon Bancorp (IN) pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Eastern Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Horizon Bancorp (IN) pays out -20.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Eastern Bankshares pays out 126.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Eastern Bankshares has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Horizon Bancorp (IN) is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Horizon Bancorp (IN) and Eastern Bankshares, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Horizon Bancorp (IN)	2	1	2	0	2.00
Eastern Bankshares	0	3	3	0	2.50

Horizon Bancorp (IN) presently has a consensus price target of $20.33, indicating a potential upside of 24.82%. Eastern Bankshares has a consensus price target of $22.13, indicating a potential upside of 16.51%. Given Horizon Bancorp (IN)’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Horizon Bancorp (IN) is more favorable than Eastern Bankshares.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

64.5% of Horizon Bancorp (IN) shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.7% of Eastern Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 2.5% of Horizon Bancorp (IN) shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Eastern Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Horizon Bancorp (IN)	$405.46 million	2.06	-$150.48 million	($3.15)	-5.17
Eastern Bankshares	$721.90 million	6.17	$88.22 million	$0.41	46.32

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

Summary

Eastern Bankshares beats Horizon Bancorp (IN) on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Eastern Bankshares

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Eastern Bank that provides banking products and services primarily to retail, commercial, and small business customers. The company provides deposit accounts, interest checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and time certificates of deposit accounts. It also offers commercial and industrial, commercial real estate and construction, small business, residential real estate, and home equity loans; lines of credit; and other consumer loans comprising unsecured personal lines of credit, overdraft protection, automobile loans, home improvement loans, airplane loans, and other personal loans. In addition, the company provides trust, financial planning and portfolio management, automated lock box collection, cash management, and account reconciliation services; personal, business, and employee benefits insurance products. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1818 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.