Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBNC – Get Free Report) and Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and dividends.
Risk & Volatility
Horizon Bancorp has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Great Southern Bancorp has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Horizon Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Great Southern Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Horizon Bancorp pays out 80.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Great Southern Bancorp pays out 30.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.
Analyst Recommendations
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Horizon Bancorp | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.33 |
| Great Southern Bancorp | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Horizon Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $18.67, suggesting a potential upside of 18.97%. Great Southern Bancorp has a consensus target price of $64.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.53%. Given Horizon Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Horizon Bancorp is more favorable than Great Southern Bancorp.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Horizon Bancorp and Great Southern Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Horizon Bancorp | $187.50 million | 3.66 | $35.43 million | $0.80 | 19.61 |
| Great Southern Bancorp | $219.71 million | 3.03 | $61.81 million | $5.26 | 10.91 |
Great Southern Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Horizon Bancorp. Great Southern Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Horizon Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
64.5% of Horizon Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.7% of Great Southern Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.8% of Horizon Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 27.6% of Great Southern Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Horizon Bancorp and Great Southern Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Horizon Bancorp | 9.86% | 8.48% | 0.79% |
| Great Southern Bancorp | 17.40% | 10.62% | 1.04% |
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.
About Great Southern Bancorp
Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Great Southern Bank that provides a range of financial services in the United States. Its deposit products include regular savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, fixed interest rate certificates with varying maturities, certificates of deposit, brokered certificates, and individual retirement accounts. The company's loan portfolio comprises residential and commercial real estate loans, commercial business loans, construction loans, home improvement loans, and unsecured consumer loans, as well as secured consumer loans, such as automobile loans, boat loans, home equity loans, and loans secured by savings deposits. It also provides insurance and merchant banking services. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri.
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