Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

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

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Stock Performance

Shares of PEBK stock opened at $27.42 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $28.31 and its 200 day moving average is $28.41. 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 company has a market capitalization of $149.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.60. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a one year low of $23.74 and a one year high of $33.31.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) last announced 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase 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

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nuveen Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in the fourth quarter worth approximately $277,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 35.5% in the fourth 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. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,335 shares of the bank’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 3,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 39,911 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,247,000 after buying an additional 1,233 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.83% of the company’s stock.

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.