Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) Director Sells $20,349.93 in Stock

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) Director James Abernethy sold 523 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.91, for a total value of $20,349.93. Following the transaction, the director owned 71,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,778,290.73. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Price Performance

PEBK traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $38.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 20,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,394. The stock has a market cap of $208.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $37.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.74 and a 12 month high of $40.74.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina had a net margin of 17.30% and a return on equity of 13.77%. The business had revenue of $24.99 million during the quarter.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This is a positive change from Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s payout ratio is 23.20%.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fourthstone LLC boosted its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 104.4% during the fourth quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 154,533 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,594,000 after buying an additional 78,921 shares during the period. HoldCo Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina during the 2nd quarter valued at $729,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in the 4th quarter valued at $304,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in the 2nd quarter valued at $212,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in the fourth quarter worth $249,000. Institutional investors own 43.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

About Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Hickory, North Carolina, that operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, Peoples Bank. The company provides a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services tailored to individuals, small businesses, and municipal clients in the western region of North Carolina.

Through its community banking network, Peoples Bancorp offers deposit products such as checking, savings, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, alongside consumer and commercial lending solutions.