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

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) Director James Abernethy sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.35, for a total transaction of $23,610.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 69,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,724,043.10. This represents a 0.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Price Performance

Shares of PEBK stock traded up $0.76 on Friday, reaching $40.18. The company had a trading volume of 26,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,046. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.38 million, a PE ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. has a one year low of $26.81 and a one year high of $42.63. The business’s 50-day moving average is $39.23 and its 200 day moving average is $36.03.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $21.57 million during the quarter. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina had a net margin of 17.22% and a return on equity of 13.24%.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 159,879 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,788,000 after buying an additional 2,598 shares during the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 104.4% in the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 154,533 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,594,000 after buying an additional 78,921 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 109,442 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,962,000 after buying an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC now owns 49,958 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,009 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $926,000 after buying an additional 2,244 shares during the last quarter. 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.