Equitable Holdings Inc. Invests $1.17 Million in Shore Bancshares Inc $SHBI

Key Points

• Equitable Holdings purchased 50,854 Shore Bancshares shares worth approximately $1.17 million, while several other institutional investors also initiated positions. Institutions and hedge funds now own 59.76% of SHBI.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.00. Recent targets were raised to as high as $26.50.
• Shore Bancshares exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.60 in EPS versus a $0.50 estimate and $61.75 million in revenue. The company also announced a $0.14 quarterly dividend and a $30 million share-repurchase program.

Equitable Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 50,854 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,167,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. owned 0.15% of Shore Bancshares as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Shore Bancshares in the second quarter worth approximately $1,271,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Shore Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,867,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Shore Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $17,110,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Shore Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $70,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Shore Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth $20,311,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Shore Bancshares Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Shore Bancshares stock opened at $23.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.86. The stock has a market cap of $772.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.81. Shore Bancshares Inc has a 12-month low of $14.93 and a 12-month high of $24.89.

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. Shore Bancshares had a net margin of 19.15% and a return on equity of 12.11%. The firm had revenue of $61.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.42 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Shore Bancshares Inc will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shore Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Shore Bancshares's payout ratio is 28.28%.

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

Shore Bancshares Company 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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