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

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

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEBK opened at $31.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.26 million, a P/E ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 0.60. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a 1 year low of $16.35 and a 1 year high of $31.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.89 and a 200-day moving average of $27.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s payout ratio is presently 25.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James S. Abernethy sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.50, for a total transaction of $73,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 83,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,050,797. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 16.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina stock. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,245 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,993 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank owned 0.67% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina worth $1,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 43.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.