Susquehanna International Group LLP Acquires 21,958 Shares of Shore Bancshares Inc $SHBI

Susquehanna International Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI) by 102.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 43,331 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 21,958 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Group LLP owned 0.13% of Shore Bancshares worth $994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Chapin Davis Inc. purchased a new stake in Shore Bancshares in the second quarter worth $224,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Shore Bancshares in the second quarter valued at $4,204,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Shore Bancshares in the second quarter valued at $1,167,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Shore Bancshares during the second quarter valued at about $1,271,000. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Shore Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,867,000. Institutional investors own 59.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Shore Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SHBI opened at $23.14 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $772.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $23.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.86. Shore Bancshares Inc has a 52 week low of $14.93 and a 52 week high of $24.89.

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $61.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.42 million. Shore Bancshares had a net margin of 19.15% and a return on equity of 12.11%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Shore Bancshares Inc will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Shore Bancshares announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 21st that allows the company to repurchase $30.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Shore Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Shore Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 28.28%.

Shore Bancshares 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.