Shore Bancshares Inc $SHBI Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

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. lifted its stake in shares of Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI - Free Report) by 26.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 594,103 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 124,921 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 1.78% of Shore Bancshares worth $8,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,446 shares of the bank's stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 1.4% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 59,878 shares of the bank's stock worth $811,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Shore Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 50,622 shares of the bank's stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 4,230 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased 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 acquiring an additional 4,329 shares during the period. 59.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael Brian Adams bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.00 per share, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 44,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $673,680. The trade was a 28.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 8.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Shore Bancshares Stock Down 1.0%

SHBI traded down $0.17 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $17.02. The stock had a trading volume of 165,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 110,399. The company has a market capitalization of $568.81 million, a PE ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 1.05. Shore Bancshares Inc has a twelve month low of $11.47 and a twelve month high of $17.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.81.

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

Shore Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Shore Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.81%.

About Shore Bancshares

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.