Shore Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHBI) announced today that it had received a non-objection letter from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond to allow the Company to repurchase its common stock. Under the new repurchase program, management is authorized to repurchase up to $5.0 million of the Company's common stock. As of November 24, 2020, the Company had 12,036,573 outstanding shares of common stock. The program may be limited or terminated at any time without prior notice. The program will expire on December 31, 2021.
The newly-approved stock repurchase program follows the Company's prior stock repurchase program, which was approved in April 2019 and authorized the repurchase of up to $10.0 million of common stock. In connection with the prior stock repurchase program, which concluded in the fourth quarter of 2020, the Company purchased an aggregate of 772,971 shares of its common stock for aggregate cash consideration of $9.9 million.
Lloyd L. "Scott" Beatty, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer stated, "We are pleased to announce that we have been authorized to begin a new common stock repurchase program. We feel at the present time this is a prudent use of our excess liquidity while maintaining our strong capital levels. The Company continues to record solid earnings, reductions in nonperforming assets and organic growth in both loans and deposits which we believe has not been reflected in our current stock price. With our common stock trading below tangible book value, we see this as an opportunity to put this capital to good use while creating long-term shareholder value."
Under the new stock repurchase program, shares of common stock may be repurchased by the Company from time to time in open market transactions or in privately negotiated transactions as permitted under applicable rules and regulations. Repurchases may be conducted, suspended, or terminated at any time without notice. The extent to which the Company repurchases its shares and the timing of such repurchases will depend upon market conditions and other considerations as may be considered in the Company's sole discretion. Repurchases may also be made pursuant to a trading plan under Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which would permit shares to be repurchased when the Company might otherwise be precluded from doing so because of self-imposed trading blackout periods or other regulatory restrictions.
Shore Bancshares Information
Shore Bancshares is a financial holding company headquartered in Easton, Maryland and is the largest independent bank holding company located on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It is the parent company of Shore United Bank. Shore Bancshares engages in trust and wealth management services through Wye Financial & Trust, a division of Shore United Bank. Additional information is available at www.shorebancshares.com.
