Principal Financial Group Inc. Makes New $834,000 Investment in Shore Bancshares Inc $SHBI

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group purchased 44,633 Shore Bancshares shares worth approximately $834,000, giving it a 0.13% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 59.76% of the bank.
• Shore Bancshares exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.60 in EPS versus the $0.50 consensus and revenue of $61.84 million versus $60.42 million expected.
• The bank authorized a $30 million share buyback and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.14 per share, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $26.00 target price.

Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 44,633 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $834,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.13% of Shore Bancshares as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Shore Bancshares during the second quarter worth $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Shore Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Shore Bancshares by 239.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,500 shares of the bank's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 3,173 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position 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 worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 2,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in Shore Bancshares by 150.6% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,682 shares of the bank's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 2,814 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 59.76% of the company's stock.

Shore Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of SHBI opened at $24.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $819.77 million, a P/E ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 0.82. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $22.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.17. Shore Bancshares Inc has a 12 month low of $14.93 and a 12 month high of $24.82.

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.10. Shore Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 19.15%.The firm had revenue of $61.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.42 million. As a group, analysts predict that Shore Bancshares Inc will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Shore Bancshares announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 21st that allows the company to repurchase $30.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Shore Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. This is a positive change from Shore Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Shore Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Shore Bancshares

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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