Lazard Asset Management LLC Invests $1.64 Million in Shore Bancshares Inc $SHBI

Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 87,508 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,635,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Shore Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Shore Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Shore Bancshares by 239.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,500 shares of the bank’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 3,173 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in Shore Bancshares by 207.4% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 4,138 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 2,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its stake in Shore Bancshares by 150.6% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,682 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 2,814 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on SHBI. Zacks Research lowered Shore Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Shore Bancshares from $24.00 to $26.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Hovde Group increased their target price on Shore Bancshares from $23.50 to $26.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Shore Bancshares from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Shore Bancshares in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Shore Bancshares Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Shore Bancshares stock opened at $24.55 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $22.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Shore Bancshares Inc has a 12-month low of $14.93 and a 12-month high of $24.89. The company has a market cap of $821.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 0.81.

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $61.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.42 million. Shore Bancshares had a net margin of 19.15% and a return on equity of 12.24%. On average, equities analysts expect that Shore Bancshares Inc will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Shore Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This is an increase from Shore Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Shore Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.28%.

Shore Bancshares announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 21st that allows the company to buyback $30.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to buy up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Shore Bancshares 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.