Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) Raises Dividend to $0.21 Per Share

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of 0.21 per share by the bank on Monday, March 16th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This is a 5.0% increase from Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Stock Performance

Shares of PEBK opened at $38.21 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a 52 week low of $23.74 and a 52 week high of $40.74. The stock has a market cap of $208.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.34.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $24.99 million for the quarter. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina had a return on equity of 13.77% and a net margin of 17.30%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James S. Abernethy sold 1,000 shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.34, for a total value of $38,340.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 72,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,780,646.84. The trade was a 1.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 2,423 shares of company stock valued at $91,291 over the last quarter. Insiders own 16.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEBK. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 159,879 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,788,000 after buying an additional 2,598 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC raised its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 104.4% in the fourth quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 154,533 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,594,000 after acquiring an additional 78,921 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 109,442 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,962,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC now owns 49,958 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,009 shares of the bank’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 2,244 shares during the period. 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 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.