Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $21.07 and last traded at $21.0010, with a volume of 44683 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SHBI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Shore Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research raised Shore Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Shore Bancshares from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Shore Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $21.33.

Shore Bancshares Trading Up 1.5%

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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $19.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.71. The company has a market capitalization of $705.17 million, a P/E ratio of 11.23 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Shore Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This is a boost from Shore Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. Shore Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 29.79%.

Shore Bancshares declared that its board 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 reacquire up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Shore Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SHBI. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Shore Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Shore Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 98.9% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,124 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 168.7% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,471 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 2,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 239.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,500 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 3,173 shares during the last quarter. 59.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.