Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Stock Down 4.7 %

NASDAQ PEBK opened at $27.41 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $28.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.43. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a one year low of $23.74 and a one year 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. The company has a market capitalization of $149.55 million, a P/E ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,590 shares of the bank’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake 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 valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 23,380 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 35.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,649 shares of the bank’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 39,911 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233 shares during the period. 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.