Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK – Get Free Report) and Orrstown Financial Services (NASDAQ:ORRF – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends and valuation.
Risk & Volatility
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a beta of 0.31, indicating that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Orrstown Financial Services has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
43.8% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.3% of Orrstown Financial Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.5% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Orrstown Financial Services shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina and Orrstown Financial Services”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina | $114.60 million | 2.07 | $19.83 million | $4.02 | 10.78 |
| Orrstown Financial Services | $356.05 million | 2.44 | $80.86 million | $4.49 | 9.82 |
Orrstown Financial Services has higher revenue and earnings than Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina. Orrstown Financial Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina and Orrstown Financial Services, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Orrstown Financial Services | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2.60 |
Orrstown Financial Services has a consensus target price of $44.33, suggesting a potential upside of 0.53%. Given Orrstown Financial Services’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Orrstown Financial Services is more favorable than Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina.
Profitability
This table compares Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina and Orrstown Financial Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina | 18.93% | 13.87% | 1.26% |
| Orrstown Financial Services | 24.23% | 14.42% | 1.56% |
Dividends
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Orrstown Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina pays out 20.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Orrstown Financial Services pays out 26.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Orrstown Financial Services has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Orrstown Financial Services is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Summary
Orrstown Financial Services beats Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Newton, North Carolina. It operates Peoples Bank, a community bank that provides banking services to individuals, businesses and organizations. The bank offers deposit accounts, including checking and savings accounts, along with commercial and consumer lending, mortgage services and digital banking. Its services support personal banking needs as well as business activities such as financing and cash management. Peoples Bank traces its history to 1912 and serves communities in North Carolina, primarily in the state’s western Piedmont and foothills region.
About Orrstown Financial Services
Orrstown Financial Services, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Through Orrstown Bank, it provides commercial and consumer banking services to individuals, businesses and organizations. Its services include deposit accounts, commercial and consumer loans, residential mortgages and other lending products. The company also offers wealth management and trust services. Orrstown serves communities in south-central Pennsylvania and Maryland. Its business expanded in 2024 through the completion of a merger with Codorus Valley Bancorp, another Pennsylvania-based bank holding company.
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