Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

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

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Stock Performance

Shares of PEBK opened at $27.41 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 company has a market cap of $149.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.43.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) last released 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 return on equity of 12.85% and a net margin of 15.08%.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 390.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,801 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 6,211 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 3,791 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 985.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 7,263 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 15.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,366 shares of the bank’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 31,765 shares of the bank’s stock worth $993,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 43.83% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Company Profile

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.