Financial Survey: Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) vs. University Bancorp (OTCMKTS:UNIB)

University Bancorp (OTCMKTS:UNIB) and Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for University Bancorp and Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
University Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	0	0	0	0	N/A

Volatility & Risk

University Bancorp has a beta of 0.36, indicating that its stock price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

University Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.45 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina pays out 25.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares University Bancorp and Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
University Bancorp	$105.57 million	0.75	$5.43 million	N/A	N/A
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	$69.88 million	1.91	$15.55 million	$2.93	8.60

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has lower revenue, but higher earnings than University Bancorp.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

43.8% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are owned by institutional investors. 63.7% of University Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 16.9% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares University Bancorp and Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
University Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	15.80%	13.85%	1.00%

Summary

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina beats University Bancorp on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About University Bancorp

University Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for University Bank that provides various personal, business, and community banking services in the United States. It offers checking, NOW, savings, money market, time deposit, and certificates of deposit accounts. The company's consumer loans include home equity, short term, automobile, personal, and recreational vehicle loans, as well as home equity lines of credits; SBA, commercial real estate, equipment, home improvement, and other instalment loans; and non-profit loans, as well as working capital lines of credit. In addition, the company provides foreign currency exchange; reverse mortgage; online banking and bill pay; online reorder checks; wire transfer; and courier services, as well as credit card and ATM services. Further, it offers life, health, property, and casualty insurance products, as well as investment products, including annuities. University Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1890 and is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

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. The company also originates commercial real estate loans, commercial loans, construction and land development loans, and residential mortgage loans; and individual taxpayer identification number mortgage loans, as well as agricultural loans. In addition, it provides investment counseling and non-deposit investment products, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, tax deferred annuities, and related brokerage services; and real estate appraisal and brokerage services. Further, the company operates as a clearing-house for the provision of appraisal services for community banks; and acquires, manages, and disposes real property, other collateral, and other assets obtained in the ordinary course of collecting debts. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Newton, North Carolina.