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 research report released on Wednesday morning.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Trading Down 0.1 %

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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a one year low of $23.74 and a one year high of $33.31. The firm has a market cap of $143.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 0.60.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. This is an increase from Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s payout ratio is currently 26.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEBK. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,590 shares of the bank’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina during the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,366 shares of the bank’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 35.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,649 shares of the bank’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 1,219 shares during 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 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.