Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI) Short Interest Up 34.3% in March

Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 749,605 shares, an increase of 34.3% from the March 15th total of 557,990 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 272,656 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Shore Bancshares Trading Up 0.8%

SHBI traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $19.45. 142,820 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 238,410. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $18.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $650.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Shore Bancshares has a 52 week low of $12.19 and a 52 week high of $20.68.

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. Shore Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.50% and a net margin of 17.36%.The firm had revenue of $59.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.55 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Shore Bancshares will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Shore Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Shore Bancshares’s payout ratio is 26.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SHBI. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Shore Bancshares from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Shore Bancshares in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Shore Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.17.

Insider Transactions at Shore Bancshares

In related news, Director William E. Esham III purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.99 per share, with a total value of $99,950.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,144.90. This trade represents a 980.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 8.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 21,691 shares of the bank’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 4,958 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 154,617 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,734,000 after buying an additional 14,850 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 96.9% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 19,878 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 9,782 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Shore Bancshares by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,150,208 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,336,000 after buying an additional 84,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Shore Bancshares by 152.2% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 187,972 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,323,000 after buying an additional 113,446 shares in the last quarter. 59.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Shore Bancshares

Shore Bancshares, Inc (NASDAQ: SHBI) is the bank holding company for Shore Community Bank, a commercial bank headquartered in Mount Holly, New Jersey. The company provides a full suite of banking and financial services to individuals and businesses, including deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage financing, and cash management solutions. Through its branch network, Shore Bancshares focuses on delivering community-oriented banking services with an emphasis on personalized customer relationships.

Shore Community Bank’s lending portfolio includes commercial real estate, construction loans, agricultural loans, small business loans under government-sponsored programs, and conventional residential mortgages.