Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $61.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.42 million. Shore Bancshares had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 11.84%.

Shore Bancshares Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of SHBI traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $22.89. The company had a trading volume of 255,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 228,564. The stock has a market capitalization of $765.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $21.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.88. Shore Bancshares has a 52-week low of $14.93 and a 52-week high of $23.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Shore Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a $0.14 dividend. This is an increase 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 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. Shore Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 29.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on SHBI. Zacks Research lowered shares of Shore Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Piper Sandler increased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Shore Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Shore Bancshares in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shore Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 21.8% during 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 raised its stake in shares of Shore Bancshares by 599.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 112,259 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 96,204 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted 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 valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Shore Bancshares by 18.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 219,494 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,972,000 after purchasing an additional 34,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 126.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,095 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after buying an additional 43,613 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.76% of the company’s stock.

Shore Bancshares declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $30.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.