Head-To-Head Review: Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) versus Banner (NASDAQ:BANR)

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) and Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

43.8% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.3% of Banner shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.9% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Banner shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Banner has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina and Banner”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	$72.53 million	2.01	$16.35 million	$2.98	8.97
Banner	$832.99 million	2.81	$168.90 million	$4.88	13.93

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

Profitability

This table compares Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina and Banner’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	15.08%	12.85%	0.98%
Banner	20.28%	10.03%	1.09%

Dividends

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Banner pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina pays out 25.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Banner pays out 39.3% 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. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina and Banner, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	0	0	0	0	0.00
Banner	0	3	3	0	2.50

Banner has a consensus target price of $74.20, suggesting a potential upside of 9.19%. Given Banner’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Banner is more favorable than Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina.

Summary

Banner beats Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Peoples Bank that provides various banking products and services for individuals and small-to medium-sized businesses. It offers checking, savings, money market, and retirement accounts; certificates of deposits; and credit and debit cards. The company also originates commercial real estate loans, commercial loans, construction and land development loans, and residential mortgage loans; and individual taxpayer identification number mortgage loans, as well as agricultural loans. In addition, it provides investment counseling and non-deposit investment products, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, tax deferred annuities, and related brokerage services; and real estate appraisal and brokerage services. Further, the company operates as a clearing-house for the provision of appraisal services for community banks; and acquires, manages, and disposes real property, other collateral, and other assets obtained in the ordinary course of collecting debts. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Newton, North Carolina.

About Banner

Banner Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Banner Bank that engages in the provision of commercial banking and financial products and services to individuals, businesses, and public sector entities in the United States. It accepts various deposit instruments, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, regular savings accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as treasury management services and retirement savings plans. The company also provides commercial real estate loans, including owner-occupied, investment properties, and multifamily residential real estate loans; construction, land, and land development loans; one- to four-family residential real estate lending; commercial business loans; agricultural loans; consumer and other loans, such as home equity lines of credit, automobile, and boat and recreational vehicle loans, as well as loans secured by deposit accounts; and small business administration loans. In addition, it provides electronic and digital banking services comprising debit cards and ATMs, internet banking, remote deposit, and mobile banking services. The company was founded in 1890 and is based in Walla Walla, Washington.