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

Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $23.58 and last traded at $23.40, with a volume of 177552 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.95.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SHBI shares. Zacks Research raised Shore Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Shore Bancshares from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Shore Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Shore Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Shore Bancshares Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $782.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.39.

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.55 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 company had revenue of $59.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.35 million. Analysts predict that Shore Bancshares Inc will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Shore Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. This is a positive change from Shore Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Shore Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 29.79%.

Shore Bancshares declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 21st that allows the company to repurchase $30.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shore Bancshares

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Shore Bancshares by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,448 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Curi Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Shore Bancshares by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Curi Capital LLC now owns 176,046 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,767,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares during the period. Man Group plc lifted 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 valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in Shore Bancshares by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 14,222 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 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.