Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI) Short Interest Down 21.8% in April

Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 586,224 shares, a decline of 21.8% from the March 31st total of 749,605 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 253,920 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Shore Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of SHBI stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $19.50. 87,894 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 241,137. 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 firm has a market cap of $652.28 million, a P/E ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.03. Shore Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $14.02 and a fifty-two week high of $20.68.

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.10. The business had revenue of ($11.02) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.35 million. Shore Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.97% and a net margin of 18.20%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Shore Bancshares will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

Shore Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. Shore Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.53%.

Insider Transactions at Shore Bancshares

In related news, Director William E. Esham III purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.99 per share, with a total value of $99,950.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,144.90. The trade was a 980.39% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 8.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Shore Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Shore Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased 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. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Shore Bancshares by 168.7% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,471 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Shore Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. 59.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on SHBI. Weiss Ratings raised 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 research report on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Shore Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their price target on Shore Bancshares from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $20.17.

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.