Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Position in Shore Bancshares Inc $SHBI

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors increased its Shore Bancshares position by 3.3% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 1.68 million shares, or approximately 5.03% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 59.76% of SHBI.
• Shore Bancshares beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.60 in earnings per share versus a $0.50 consensus estimate and revenue of $61.75 million. The company also authorized a $30 million share repurchase program and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.14 per share.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, with an average price target of $26.00 compared with the stock’s reported price of $24.61. Recent targets were raised by Piper Sandler and Hovde Group to $26.50.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI - Free Report) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,683,403 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 53,381 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.03% of Shore Bancshares worth $31,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Shore Bancshares in the second quarter worth $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Shore Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Shore Bancshares by 207.4% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Shore Bancshares by 239.1% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,500 shares of the bank's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 3,173 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its holdings in shares of Shore Bancshares by 150.6% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,682 shares of the bank's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 2,814 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.76% of the company's stock.

Shore Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of SHBI stock opened at $24.61 on Wednesday. Shore Bancshares Inc has a 52-week low of $14.93 and a 52-week high of $24.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $823.45 million, a PE ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.28.

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $61.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.42 million. Shore Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 19.15%. On average, equities analysts expect that Shore Bancshares Inc will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Shore Bancshares declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 21st that allows the company to buyback $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Shore Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This is a boost from Shore Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. Shore Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Shore Bancshares in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Shore Bancshares from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Shore Bancshares from $24.00 to $26.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of Shore Bancshares from $23.50 to $26.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Shore Bancshares from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Shore Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.00.

Shore Bancshares Profile

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.

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