Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $23.61 and last traded at $23.5710, with a volume of 57012 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SHBI shares. Weiss Ratings raised Shore Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Shore Bancshares in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Shore Bancshares from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Shore Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Shore Bancshares has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Shore Bancshares Trading Down 1.9%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.75. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $775.60 million, a P/E ratio of 12.33 and a beta of 0.82.

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.10. Shore Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 18.20%.The firm had revenue of $59.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.35 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Shore Bancshares Inc will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Shore Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. 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 of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shore Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SHBI. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 20.1% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,448 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 18,226 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. Curi Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Shore Bancshares by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Curi Capital LLC now owns 176,046 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,767,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc increased its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 19,053 shares of the bank’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 903 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its stake in Shore Bancshares by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 14,222 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. 59.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.