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

Shares of Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $19.39 and last traded at $19.2880, with a volume of 40863 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on SHBI. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Shore Bancshares in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Shore Bancshares from $18.00 to $18.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Hovde Group started coverage on Shore Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $19.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research lowered shares of Shore Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Shore Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.75.

Shore Bancshares Stock Down 3.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $612.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $56.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.70 million. Shore Bancshares had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 11.25%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Shore Bancshares Inc will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shore Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Shore Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.24%.

Insider Activity

In other Shore Bancshares news, EVP Aaron Michael Kaslow bought 6,500 shares of Shore Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.56 per share, with a total value of $101,140.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 6,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,140. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have purchased a total of 7,700 shares of company stock valued at $121,994 in the last three months. Insiders own 8.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shore Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Shore Bancshares by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 18,226 shares of the bank’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Curi Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Shore Bancshares by 0.5% in the second quarter. Curi Capital LLC now owns 176,046 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,767,000 after buying an additional 882 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Shore Bancshares by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,879 shares of the bank’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 1,324 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Shore Bancshares by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 44,538 shares of the bank’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 1,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.76% of the company’s stock.

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.