StockNews.com Upgrades Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) to Buy

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

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina stock opened at $27.42 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.40. The company has a market cap of $149.60 million, a P/E ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.60. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a fifty-two week low of $23.74 and a fifty-two week high of $33.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. This is a boost from Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s payout ratio is currently 26.85%.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,590 shares of the bank’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina during the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 15.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,366 shares of the bank’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,649 shares of the bank’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219 shares in 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.