Howard Bancorp Inc. plans to raise $30 million through a public offering of more common stock.
The Ellicott City-based parent company of Howard Bank said it will use the proceeds to boost the bank's capital for lending and investment, to repay debt and to support future acquisitions.
Howard's stock is traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the symbol HBMD. The bank's stock was up 2.29 percent Wednesday morning, at $15.85 a share.
The offering is being underwritten by Raymond James & Associates.
In its latest earnings report, released Jan. 20, the bank reported a profit of $953,000 in the fourth quarter. For the full year of 2016, Howard reported net income of $5.14 million, up from $1.02 million in 2015.
Howard's fourth quarter and year-end financial results were boosted by organic growth of assets, loans and deposits, the bank said. As of Dec. 31, Howard had just over $1 billion in assets.
The bank has branches, commercial offices and mortgage offices throughout the Baltimore region.