Shore Bancshares (SHBI) Competitors

Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) and ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, media sentiment, risk and profitability.

Which has more volatility and risk, SHBI or CNOB?

Shore Bancshares has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ConnectOne Bancorp has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is SHBI or CNOB a better dividend stock?

Shore Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. ConnectOne Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Shore Bancshares pays out 32.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ConnectOne Bancorp pays out 38.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. ConnectOne Bancorp has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Shore Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Is SHBI or CNOB more profitable?

Shore Bancshares has a net margin of 14.91% compared to ConnectOne Bancorp's net margin of 14.48%. Shore Bancshares' return on equity of 10.44% beat ConnectOne Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Shore Bancshares	14.91%	10.44%	0.93%
ConnectOne Bancorp	14.48%	7.05%	0.82%

Do institutionals and insiders believe in SHBI or CNOB?

59.8% of Shore Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.7% of ConnectOne Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.6% of Shore Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.4% of ConnectOne Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media refer more to SHBI or CNOB?

In the previous week, Shore Bancshares and Shore Bancshares both had 4 articles in the media. ConnectOne Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 0.89 beat Shore Bancshares' score of 0.88 indicating that ConnectOne Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Shore Bancshares	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
ConnectOne Bancorp	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better earnings and valuation, SHBI or CNOB?

ConnectOne Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Shore Bancshares. Shore Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ConnectOne Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Shore Bancshares	$326.48M	1.66	$43.89M	$1.49	10.90
ConnectOne Bancorp	$534.62M	1.78	$73.79M	$1.85	13.35

Do analysts recommend SHBI or CNOB?

Shore Bancshares currently has a consensus price target of $20.00, indicating a potential upside of 23.15%. ConnectOne Bancorp has a consensus price target of $28.50, indicating a potential upside of 15.38%. Given Shore Bancshares' higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Shore Bancshares is more favorable than ConnectOne Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Shore Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
ConnectOne Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Summary

ConnectOne Bancorp beats Shore Bancshares on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.