Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) Reaches New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement
by Doug Wharley · The Cerbat GemShore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI – Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $20.69 and last traded at $20.31, with a volume of 27200 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.95.
The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Shore Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Shore Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 25.53%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SHBI shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Shore Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of Shore Bancshares from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Shore Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Shore Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Shore Bancshares from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One investment 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.33.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Shore Bancshares
Shore Bancshares Trading Up 2.4%
The stock has a market cap of $683.55 million, a P/E ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.40.
Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The company had revenue of $59.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.35 million. Equities research analysts expect that Shore Bancshares Inc will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Shore Bancshares announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 21st that allows the company to buyback $30.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shore Bancshares
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fourthstone LLC grew its stake in Shore Bancshares by 61.6% during the fourth quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 918,202 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,234,000 after purchasing an additional 350,012 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Shore Bancshares by 578.2% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 380,283 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,104,000 after buying an additional 324,208 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Shore Bancshares by 168.5% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 495,965 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,769,000 after buying an additional 311,266 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Shore Bancshares by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,065,910 shares of the bank’s stock worth $17,492,000 after buying an additional 175,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 143.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 273,109 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,293,000 after buying an additional 160,850 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.