Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shore Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHBI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $17.61 and last traded at $17.59, with a volume of 30101 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Shore Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Shore Bancshares Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $578.61 million, a P/E ratio of 13.72 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $15.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.63.

Shore Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. Shore Bancshares’s payout ratio is 38.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Konrad Wayson bought 3,000 shares of Shore Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.94 per share, with a total value of $50,820.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 53,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $902,326.04. The trade was a 5.97 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 8.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Shore Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Shore Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth $147,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Shore Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $156,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Shore Bancshares by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 43,240 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 2,639 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Shore Bancshares by 30.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 37,674 shares of the bank’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 8,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Shore Bancshares by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 57,086 shares of the bank’s stock worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 6,321 shares in the last quarter. 59.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Shore Bancshares

Shore Bancshares, Inc operates as a bank holding company for the Shore United Bank, N.A. that provides various commercial and consumer banking products and services to individuals, businesses, and other organizations. It offers checking, savings, overnight investment sweep, and money market accounts; and regular and IRA certificates of deposit, as well as CDARS programs and cash management services.