Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) Sets New 52-Week High Following Strong Earnings

Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $23.72 and last traded at $23.72, with a volume of 55869 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.90.

The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.10. Shore Bancshares had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The company had revenue of $61.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.42 million.

Shore Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Shore Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. Shore Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.79%.

Shore Bancshares declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $30.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on SHBI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Shore Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Shore Bancshares from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Shore Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Shore Bancshares in a report on Friday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shore Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fourthstone LLC lifted its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 61.6% during the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 918,202 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,234,000 after buying an additional 350,012 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 578.2% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 380,283 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,104,000 after buying an additional 324,208 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 168.5% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 495,965 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,769,000 after buying an additional 311,266 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Shore Bancshares by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,065,910 shares of the bank’s stock worth $17,492,000 after acquiring an additional 175,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Shore Bancshares by 143.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 273,109 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,293,000 after acquiring an additional 160,850 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.76% of the company’s stock.

Shore Bancshares Trading Up 3.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $794.44 million, a PE ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business’s 50-day moving average is $21.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.92.

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.