American Century Companies Inc. Buys 124,921 Shares of Shore Bancshares Inc $SHBI

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Shore Bancshares by 26.6%, holding 594,103 shares worth approximately $8.04 million at the end of the most recent quarter.
• Shore Bancshares announced a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share, resulting in a 2.8% dividend yield with an annualized amount of $0.48.
• The stock has been rated "buy" by analysts, with an average target price of $20.00 and recently beat earnings estimates by reporting $0.51 EPS compared to the expected $0.41 EPS.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI - Free Report) by 26.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 594,103 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 124,921 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.78% of Shore Bancshares worth $8,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 19,253 shares of the bank's stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 4,329 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Shore Bancshares by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 50,622 shares of the bank's stock valued at $802,000 after acquiring an additional 4,230 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Shore Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at $279,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Shore Bancshares by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 91,087 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 6,145 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Shore Bancshares by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,346,364 shares of the bank's stock worth $21,340,000 after buying an additional 57,115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Shore Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Shore Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $20.00.

Shore Bancshares Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ SHBI traded up $0.08 on Friday, hitting $17.19. 146,016 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 121,040. Shore Bancshares Inc has a 52-week low of $11.47 and a 52-week high of $17.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $574.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 1.04. The company's 50-day moving average price is $16.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.80.

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $56.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.77 million. Shore Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.98% and a net margin of 15.98%. Research analysts predict that Shore Bancshares Inc will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Shore Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Shore Bancshares's payout ratio is presently 29.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael Brian Adams bought 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $150,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 44,912 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $673,680. This represents a 28.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 8.69% of the company's stock.

Shore Bancshares Profile

Shore Bancshares, Inc operates as a bank holding company for the Shore United Bank, N.A. that provides various commercial and consumer banking products and services to individuals, businesses, and other organizations. It offers checking, savings, overnight investment sweep, and money market accounts; and regular and IRA certificates of deposit, as well as CDARS programs and cash management services.