ECB Bancorp (NASDAQ:ECBK) Trading Up 1.4% – What’s Next?

ECB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECBK)’s share price shot up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $20.88 and last traded at $20.73. Approximately 7,747 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 9,294 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECBK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ECB Bancorp to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings raised ECB Bancorp from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, ECB Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

ECB Bancorp Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $181.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.13 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58.

ECB Bancorp (NASDAQ:ECBK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter. ECB Bancorp had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 6.55%. The business had revenue of $10.34 million for the quarter.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECBK. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of ECB Bancorp by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 1,076 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in ECB Bancorp by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in ECB Bancorp by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 11,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,485 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in ECB Bancorp by 409.4% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in ECB Bancorp by 61.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 2,248 shares during the period. 30.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ECB Bancorp

ECB Bancorp, Inc operating as a holding company for Everett Co-operative Bank that provides various banking products and services. The company accepts various deposit products, including certificate of deposit accounts, IRAs, money market accounts, savings accounts, demand deposit accounts, and interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking accounts. It also offers one- to four-family residential real estate, commercial real estate and multifamily real estate, construction and land, commercial, and consumer loans, as well as home equity loans and lines of credit.