Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Shore Bancshares Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Shore Bancshares stock opened at $15.83 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.76. Shore Bancshares has a 12-month low of $11.47 and a 12-month high of $17.61. The company has a market capitalization of $528.25 million, a P/E ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.10. Shore Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 15.98%. The business had revenue of $56.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.77 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Shore Bancshares will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Shore Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Shore Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.21%.

Insider Activity at Shore Bancshares

In related news, Director Konrad Wayson purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.25 per share, with a total value of $71,250.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 59,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $845,424. This represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 6,250 shares of company stock worth $89,468. Insiders own 8.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shore Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Shore Bancshares by 31,320.0% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,571 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Shore Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Shore Bancshares by 43,326.3% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 8,251 shares of the bank’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 8,232 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Shore Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth about $145,000. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP purchased a new position in shares of Shore Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth about $179,000. 59.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Shore Bancshares

Shore Bancshares, Inc operates as a bank holding company for the Shore United Bank, N.A. that provides various commercial and consumer banking products and services to individuals, businesses, and other organizations. It offers checking, savings, overnight investment sweep, and money market accounts; and regular and IRA certificates of deposit, as well as CDARS programs and cash management services.