Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

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

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ PEBK opened at $27.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a 12 month low of $23.74 and a 12 month high of $33.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.60 million, a PE ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.41.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. This is a positive change from Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 390.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,801 shares of the bank’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 6,211 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,510 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 3,791 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 985.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,263 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,366 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina during the 3rd quarter valued at about $545,000. 43.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.