Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) Upgraded 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 note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Price Performance

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina stock opened at $28.59 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.24 million, a PE ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a 12-month low of $17.31 and a 12-month high of $31.59.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina had a net margin of 16.29% and a return on equity of 14.14%. The company had revenue of $19.34 million during the quarter.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s payout ratio is 25.94%.

Insider Activity at Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

In related news, Director James S. Abernethy sold 1,000 shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.90, for a total transaction of $29,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 82,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,457,959.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 16.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina stock. AMG National Trust Bank raised its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,245 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,993 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank owned 0.67% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina worth $1,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. 43.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.