Head-To-Head Comparison: Prime Meridian (OTCMKTS:PMHG) & Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK)

Insider & Institutional Ownership

43.8% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 11.8% of Prime Meridian shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.9% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 25.9% of Prime Meridian shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina and Prime Meridian”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	$71.14 million	2.12	$16.35 million	$2.98	9.29
Prime Meridian	$50.36 million	1.91	$8.49 million	$2.56	11.32

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has higher revenue and earnings than Prime Meridian. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Prime Meridian, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Prime Meridian has a beta of 0.51, meaning that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina and Prime Meridian’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	15.08%	12.85%	0.98%
Prime Meridian	16.86%	10.05%	0.95%

Dividends

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Prime Meridian pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina pays out 26.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Prime Meridian pays out 39.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Summary

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina beats Prime Meridian on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The company also originates commercial real estate loans, commercial loans, construction and land development loans, and residential mortgage loans; and individual taxpayer identification number mortgage loans, as well as agricultural loans. In addition, it provides investment counseling and non-deposit investment products, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, tax deferred annuities, and related brokerage services; and real estate appraisal and brokerage services. Further, the company operates as a clearing-house for the provision of appraisal services for community banks; and acquires, manages, and disposes real property, other collateral, and other assets obtained in the ordinary course of collecting debts. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Newton, North Carolina.

About Prime Meridian

Prime Meridian Holding Company operates as the bank holding company for Prime Meridian Bank that provides various consumer and commercial banking services to individuals and businesses. The company accepts various deposits, such as checking, money market, savings, term certificate of deposit, demand interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing, health savings, NOW, and escrow accounts, as well as retirement savings plans and time deposits. Its loan products include commercial real estate, residential real estate and home equity, small business administration, construction, equipment, and commercial loans; and consumer and other loans comprising financing of automobiles, boats, and recreational vehicles, as well as issues standby letters and business lines of credit. The company also offers debit and credit cards; mobile banking, remote and mobile deposit, Apple Pay, bank-to-bank transfer, and online banking services; and safe deposit, wire transfer, foreign exchange, direct deposits, notary, night depository, official checks, domestic collections, bank drafts, automated teller services, drive-in tellers, merchant card, and banking by mail services, as well as invests in securities. Prime Meridian Holding Company was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida.