Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $22.23 and last traded at $22.13, with a volume of 254786 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.67.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on SHBI. Weiss Ratings upgraded Shore Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research raised Shore Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Shore Bancshares in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Shore Bancshares from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $21.33.

Shore Bancshares Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $740.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.87.

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $59.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.35 million. Shore Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 18.20%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Shore Bancshares Inc will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Shore Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Shore Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Shore Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 29.79%.

Shore Bancshares declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 21st that allows the company to buyback $30.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to buy up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shore Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SHBI. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Shore Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Shore Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Shore Bancshares by 98.9% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,124 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Shore Bancshares by 168.7% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,471 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 2,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Shore Bancshares by 239.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,500 shares of the bank’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 3,173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.76% of the company’s stock.

Shore Bancshares Company Profile

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.