James Abernethy Sells 600 Shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) Stock

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) Director James Abernethy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.16, for a total value of $22,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 71,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,744,696.16. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Price Performance

PEBK opened at $39.45 on Friday. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.74 and a 1 year high of $40.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $215.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $37.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.39.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina had a net margin of 17.30% and a return on equity of 13.77%. The company had revenue of $24.99 million for the quarter.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s payout ratio is presently 23.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on PEBK. Wall Street Zen raised Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 7.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,009 shares of the bank’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 2,244 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 14.5% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 9,425 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 109,401 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,157,000 after buying an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 21,366 shares of the bank’s stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 2,809 shares during the last quarter. 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 is a bank holding company headquartered in Hickory, North Carolina, that operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, Peoples Bank. The company provides a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services tailored to individuals, small businesses, and municipal clients in the western region of North Carolina.

Through its community banking network, Peoples Bancorp offers deposit products such as checking, savings, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, alongside consumer and commercial lending solutions.