Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) Director James Abernethy Sells 1,000 Shares of Stock

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) Director James Abernethy sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $43,790.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 64,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,829,972.54. This trade represents a 1.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Trading Up 1.5%

PEBK opened at $44.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $243.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 0.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $43.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.38. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. has a one year low of $27.33 and a one year high of $45.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 19th. The bank reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 18.93%. The firm had revenue of $23.38 million for the quarter.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 3rd. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s dividend payout ratio is 20.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GTS Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina during the second quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 3.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 35,324 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,383,000 after buying an additional 1,112 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 33.3% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 37,614 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after buying an additional 9,407 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina during the first quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 4.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 167,283 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,551,000 after buying an additional 7,404 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.83% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Company Profile

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc is the bank holding company for Peoples Bank, a community banking institution headquartered in Newton, North Carolina. Through its banking subsidiary, the company provides financial services to individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations.

Peoples Bank offers deposit products, including checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposit accounts, along with consumer, residential mortgage, commercial and real estate lending.