Three Understated Metrics For Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI) You Should Know
Shore Bancshares Inc’s (NASDAQ:SHBI) profitability and risk are largely affected by the underlying economic growth for the region it operates in US given it is a small-cap stock with a market capitalisation of US$220m. A bank’s cash flow is directly impacted by economic growth as it is the main driver of deposit levels and demand for loans which it profits from. After the Financial Crisis in 2008, a set of reforms called Basel III was created with the purpose of strengthening regulation, risk management and supervision in the banking sector. The Basel III reforms are aimed at banking regulations to improve financial institutions’ ability to absorb shocks caused by economic stress which could expose banks like Shore Bancshares to vulnerabilities. Unpredictable macro events such as political instability could weaken its financial position which is why it is important to understand how well the bank manages its risk levels. Low levels of leverage coupled with sufficient liquidity may place Shore Bancshares in a safe position in the face of adverse headwinds. We can measure this risk exposure by analysing three metrics for leverage and liquidity which I will take you through today.
Check out our latest analysis for Shore Bancshares
Is SHBI’s Leverage Level Appropriate?
Banks with low leverage are better positioned to weather adverse headwinds as they have less debt to pay off. A bank’s leverage may be thought of as the level of assets it owns compared to its own shareholders’ equity. Financial institutions are required to have a certain level of buffer to meet capital adequacy levels. Shore Bancshares’s leverage level of less than the suitable maximum level of 20x, at 8.64x, is considered to be very cautious and prudent. This means the bank exhibits very strong leverage management and is well-positioned to repay its debtors in the case of any adverse events since it has an appropriately high level of equity relative to the debt it has taken on to remain in business. If the bank needs to increase its debt levels to firm up its capital cushion, there is plenty of headroom to do so without deteriorating its financial position.
How Should We Measure SHBI’s Liquidity?
As abovementioned, loans are quite illiquid so it is important to understand how much of these loans make up Shore Bancshares’s total assets. Generally, they should make up less than 70% of total assets, however its current level of 79% means the bank has lent out 8.99% above the sensible threshold. This level implies dependency on this particular asset class as a source of revenue which makes the bank more exposed to default compared to banks with less loans.
Does SHBI Have Liquidity Mismatch?
Banks operate by lending out its customers’ deposits as loans and charge a higher interest rate. These loans may be fixed term and often cannot be readily realized, conversely, on the liability side, customer deposits must be paid in very short notice and on-demand. The disparity between the immediacy of deposits compared to the illiquid nature of loans puts pressure on the bank’s financial position if an adverse event requires the bank to repay its depositors. Since Shore Bancshares’s loan to deposit ratio of 98% is higher than the appropriate level of 90%, this level positions the bank in a risky spot given the potential to cross into negative liquidity disparity between loan and deposit levels. Essentially, for $1 of deposits with the bank, it lends out more than $0.9 which is risky.
Next Steps:
Today, we’ve only explored one aspect of Shore Bancshares. However, as a potential stock investment, there are many more fundamentals you need to consider. I’ve put together three essential factors you should further examine:
Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for SHBI’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for SHBI’s outlook.
Valuation: What is SHBI worth today? Has the future growth potential already been factored into the price? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether SHBI is currently mispriced by the market.
Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
