Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shore Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHBI - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $15.79, but opened at $17.24. Shore Bancshares shares last traded at $16.13, with a volume of 12,452 shares changing hands.

The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.09. Shore Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.40% and a net margin of 13.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Shore Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insider Transactions at Shore Bancshares

In other Shore Bancshares news, Director Konrad Wayson purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.94 per share, with a total value of $50,820.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 53,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $902,326.04. The trade was a 5.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 8.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shore Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHBI. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new stake in Shore Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $899,000. Fourthstone LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Shore Bancshares by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 3,329,922 shares of the bank's stock worth $46,586,000 after acquiring an additional 54,679 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Shore Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth about $763,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Shore Bancshares by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 537,140 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,515,000 after purchasing an additional 41,971 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Shore Bancshares by 48.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 84,942 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 27,627 shares during the last quarter. 59.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shore Bancshares Price Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average is $16.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.88. The company has a market capitalization of $535.28 million, a PE ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.97. 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 Company Profile

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.