Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEBK opened at $27.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $28.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.62 million, a PE ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 0.60. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a 52 week low of $23.74 and a 52 week high of $33.31.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. This is a boost from Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.85%.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PEBK. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 27.8% during the 4th 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 acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in the fourth quarter valued at about $85,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 15.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,366 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake 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. 43.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.