Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $21.57 million for the quarter. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 17.30%.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Price Performance

PEBK stock opened at $42.42 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.49. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a 12-month low of $25.66 and a 12-month high of $42.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $231.71 million, a PE ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 0.30.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This is an increase from Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s payout ratio is 23.20%.

Insider Transactions at Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

In related news, Director James S. Abernethy sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.34, for a total transaction of $38,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 72,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,780,646.84. This represents a 1.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,123 shares of company stock worth $81,586. 14.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 28.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,600 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 116.7% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 932 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 109,401 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,157,000 after buying an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC now owns 49,958 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 21.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,684 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. 43.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Company Profile

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Hickory, North Carolina, that operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, Peoples Bank. The company provides a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services tailored to individuals, small businesses, and municipal clients in the western region of North Carolina.

Through its community banking network, Peoples Bancorp offers deposit products such as checking, savings, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, alongside consumer and commercial lending solutions.