Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) Short Interest Down 15.7% in April

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 49,839 shares, a decline of 15.7% from the March 31st total of 59,096 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 41,990 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Stock Performance

Shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina stock opened at $40.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.03. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a 52 week low of $26.81 and a 52 week high of $42.63. The company has a market cap of $219.46 million, a PE ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.30.

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

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 was Wednesday, March 4th. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s dividend payout ratio is 23.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James S. Abernethy sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.34, for a total transaction of $38,340.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 72,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,780,646.84. This represents a 1.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 3,323 shares of company stock valued at $129,232 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 14.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,600 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 116.7% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 932 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 0.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 109,401 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,157,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the period. Maltese Capital Management LLC grew its position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 1.2% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 21.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,684 shares of the bank’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 43.83% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Company Profile

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.