Shore Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHBI) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Shore Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHBI) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 176,800 shares, a decrease of 18.0% from the October 15th total of 215,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 81,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Shore Bancshares from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded Shore Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th.

Shore Bancshares Price Performance

SHBI traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $16.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 76,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 85,041. The firm has a market capitalization of $540.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 0.95. Shore Bancshares has a twelve month low of $10.06 and a twelve month high of $16.66. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Shore Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. Shore Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.40%.

Institutional Trading of Shore Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Shore Bancshares by 428.0% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 42,829 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 34,717 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Shore Bancshares by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,619,605 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,625,000 after acquiring an additional 11,544 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Shore Bancshares in the first quarter valued at about $200,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Shore Bancshares by 12.5% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Gendell Jeffrey L boosted its holdings in Shore Bancshares by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 283,410 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,259,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. 59.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.