Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHBI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Shore Bancshares from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research cut shares of Shore Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Shore Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Shore Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.

Shore Bancshares Trading Up 0.9%

The stock has a 50 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) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.10. Shore Bancshares had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The company had revenue of $59.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.35 million. On average, research analysts predict that Shore Bancshares Inc will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Shore Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Shore Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. Shore Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.79%.

Shore Bancshares announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 21st that permits the company to buyback $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SHBI. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Shore Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Shore Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 98.9% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,124 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 239.1% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 207.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.76% of the company’s stock.

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.