Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares of Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) moved above their 200-day moving average, trading as high as $22.45 and last changing hands at $22.43.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $22.00; Piper Sandler recently raised its target to $24 and kept an Overweight rating.
• The company reported solid recent results, including Q1 EPS of $0.55 versus $0.45 expected, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.14 while authorizing a $30 million share repurchase program.

Shares of Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI - Get Free Report) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $19.56 and traded as high as $22.45. Shore Bancshares shares last traded at $22.43, with a volume of 175,917 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SHBI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Shore Bancshares from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Shore Bancshares in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research lowered Shore Bancshares from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Shore Bancshares from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Shore Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.00.

Shore Bancshares Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $21.14 and a 200 day moving average of $19.56. The company has a market capitalization of $750.51 million, a P/E ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.10. Shore Bancshares had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The business had revenue of $59.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $58.35 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Shore Bancshares Inc will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Shore Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were issued a $0.14 dividend. This is an increase from Shore Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. Shore Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 29.79%.

Shore Bancshares announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $30.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shore Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Shore Bancshares by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,448 shares of the bank's stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Shore Bancshares by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 18,226 shares of the bank's stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Curi Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Shore Bancshares by 0.5% in the second quarter. Curi Capital LLC now owns 176,046 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,767,000 after acquiring an additional 882 shares during the period. Man Group plc lifted its holdings in Shore Bancshares by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 19,053 shares of the bank's stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 903 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC boosted its position in Shore Bancshares by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 14,222 shares of the bank's stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. 59.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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