Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) Share Price Breaks Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $21.47 and traded as high as $23.02. Shore Bancshares shares last traded at $22.80, with a volume of 199,265 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on SHBI. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Shore Bancshares in a report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on Shore Bancshares from $23.50 to $26.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Shore Bancshares from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Shore Bancshares in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Shore Bancshares from $24.00 to $26.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.75.

Shore Bancshares Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $744.45 million, a P/E ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 12.11%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Shore Bancshares Inc will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shore Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 2nd. Shore Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Shore Bancshares in the second quarter worth about $73,784,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Shore Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $20,311,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Shore Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth $17,110,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Shore Bancshares by 578.2% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Shore Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,867,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.76% of the company’s stock.

About Shore Bancshares

Shore Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Easton, Maryland. Through its principal banking subsidiary, Shore United Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, and organizations.

Shore United Bank offers deposit accounts, commercial and residential real estate loans, commercial lending, consumer loans, home equity financing, and other credit products. Its services also include online and mobile banking, treasury management, wealth management, investment services, and insurance-related products.

The company has historically focused on communities across Maryland’s Eastern Shore and other parts of Maryland, with a presence extending into the Baltimore and Annapolis areas following its combination with Severn Bancorp.