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

StockNews.com cut shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Price Performance

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina stock opened at $31.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $168.27 million, a PE ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 0.58. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a 52-week low of $18.81 and a 52-week high of $32.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company’s 50 day moving average is $29.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.65.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina had a net margin of 15.80% and a return on equity of 14.08%. The business had revenue of $19.34 million for the quarter.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James S. Abernethy sold 1,000 shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.90, for a total transaction of $29,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 82,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,457,959.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 16.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AMG National Trust Bank raised its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 37,245 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,124,000 after acquiring an additional 3,993 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 7.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,824 shares of the bank’s stock worth $747,000 after acquiring an additional 1,925 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina during the second quarter worth about $388,000. 43.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.