Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $18.37 and traded as high as $19.73. Shore Bancshares shares last traded at $19.70, with a volume of 172,969 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SHBI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Shore Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Shore Bancshares from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of Shore Bancshares from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Shore Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $21.33.

Shore Bancshares Stock Up 1.4%

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 stock has a market cap of $676.56 million, a PE ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $19.01 and a 200-day moving average of $18.41.

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $59.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.35 million. Shore Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 18.20%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Shore Bancshares Inc will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Shore Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. This is an increase from Shore Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Shore Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.53%.

Shore Bancshares announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 21st that permits the company to repurchase $30.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shore Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Shore Bancshares by 38.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 76,925 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,437,000 after buying an additional 21,308 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised 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 worth $7,104,000 after buying an additional 324,208 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Shore Bancshares by 4.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,101 shares of the bank’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 1,139 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Shore Bancshares by 9.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 169,973 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,175,000 after buying an additional 15,356 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in Shore Bancshares by 54.4% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 65,811 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,229,000 after buying an additional 23,196 shares in 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.