Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) Price Target Raised to $26.50

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) had its price objective increased by Hovde Group from $23.50 to $26.50 in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Hovde Group currently has an outperform rating on the bank’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Shore Bancshares in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Shore Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Shore Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Shore Bancshares from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Shore Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Shore Bancshares Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Shore Bancshares stock opened at $24.54 on Monday. Shore Bancshares has a 1 year low of $14.93 and a 1 year high of $24.76. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.10. The company has a market capitalization of $821.11 million, a P/E ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 0.82.

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $61.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.42 million. Shore Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 19.15%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Shore Bancshares will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shore Bancshares declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 21st that allows the company to buyback $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Shore Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 yield of 2.3%. Shore Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 28.28%.

Institutional Trading of Shore Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Shore Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Shore Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Shore Bancshares by 98.9% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,124 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings 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 period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Shore Bancshares by 20.1% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,448 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.