Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $17.52 and traded as high as $17.99. Shore Bancshares shares last traded at $17.92, with a volume of 284,632 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on SHBI shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Shore Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on Shore Bancshares from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Shore Bancshares from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Shore Bancshares from $18.00 to $18.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.17.

Shore Bancshares Stock Down 0.4%

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $18.76 and its 200-day moving average is $17.52. The stock has a market cap of $598.89 million, a P/E ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.90. 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 Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $59.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.55 million. Shore Bancshares had a net margin of 17.36% and a return on equity of 11.50%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Shore Bancshares Inc will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Shore Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. Shore Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William E. Esham III bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.99 per share, with a total value of $99,950.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,144.90. This trade represents a 980.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 8.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shore Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Shore Bancshares by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,781,501 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,234,000 after buying an additional 48,390 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Shore Bancshares by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,630,022 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,819,000 after buying an additional 20,406 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Shore Bancshares by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,150,208 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,336,000 after buying an additional 84,298 shares in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC grew its holdings in Shore Bancshares by 61.6% during the fourth quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 918,202 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,234,000 after acquiring an additional 350,012 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Shore Bancshares by 5.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 749,327 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,782,000 after acquiring an additional 35,407 shares in the last quarter. 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.