Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks upgraded Shore Bancshares from a "hold" to a "strong-buy," joining recent favorable calls from Weiss and Hovde and leaving the stock with a MarketBeat average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $20.17.
• The bank reported quarterly EPS of $0.55, beating estimates of $0.45, while trading near $19.12 with a market cap of $639.6M and a PE ratio of 10.17 (12-month range $13.65–$20.68).
• Director William E. Esham III bought 5,000 shares at about $19.99, insider ownership is 8.7%, and institutional investors hold roughly 59.8% after several funds added or initiated positions.

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on SHBI. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of 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 target price on shares of Shore Bancshares in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Hovde Group increased their target price on shares of Shore Bancshares from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Shore Bancshares currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $20.17.

Shore Bancshares Stock Down 2.3%

Shore Bancshares stock opened at $19.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $639.58 million, a PE ratio of 10.17 and a beta of 0.85. Shore Bancshares has a twelve month low of $13.65 and a twelve month high of $20.68. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $18.75 and a 200-day moving average of $18.02.

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.10. The company had revenue of ($11.02) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $58.35 million. Shore Bancshares had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 11.97%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Shore Bancshares will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William E. Esham III acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.99 per share, with a total value of $99,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at $110,144.90. This trade represents a 980.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 8.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shore Bancshares

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Integrated Advisors Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Shore Bancshares in the first quarter valued at about $235,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Shore Bancshares during the first quarter worth about $306,000. Anchyra Partners LLC bought a new position in Shore Bancshares during the first quarter worth about $253,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Shore Bancshares by 27.6% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,372 shares of the bank's stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 2,675 shares during the period. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Shore Bancshares during the first quarter worth about $229,000. 59.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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