Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $19.08 and traded as high as $22.24. Shore Bancshares shares last traded at $21.96, with a volume of 289,180 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on SHBI. Zacks Research raised shares of Shore Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Shore Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report 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 research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Shore Bancshares from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Shore Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.33.

Shore Bancshares Stock Up 1.0%

The company has a market cap of $734.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.08.

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.10. The business 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Shore Bancshares Inc will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Shore Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. This is a positive change from Shore Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Shore Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.79%.

Shore Bancshares announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 21st that permits the company to buyback $30.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shore Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SHBI. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Shore Bancshares by 21.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 23,168 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 4,154 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Shore Bancshares by 599.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 112,259 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 96,204 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Shore Bancshares by 4.5% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Shore Bancshares by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 219,494 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,972,000 after purchasing an additional 34,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Shore Bancshares by 126.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,095 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 43,613 shares during the period. 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.