Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PEBK opened at $26.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.59. The company has a market capitalization of $143.65 million, a PE ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 0.60. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a twelve month low of $23.74 and a twelve month high of $33.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 12.85%.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. This is a boost from Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s payout ratio is presently 26.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,590 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 564 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,366 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 23,380 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 695 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 35.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,649 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 1,219 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 39,911 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,247,000 after buying an additional 1,233 shares during the period. 43.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Company Profile

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.