Insider Buying: Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) Director Acquires $21,880.00 in Stock

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) Director Douglas Howard purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $43.76 per share, for a total transaction of $21,880.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 24,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,060,173.52. The trade was a 2.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:PEBK traded down $0.57 on Friday, hitting $44.03. 25,890 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 30,310. The stock has a market capitalization of $240.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 0.30. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.33 and a 52 week high of $45.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $43.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.38.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 19th. The bank reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $23.38 million for the quarter. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina had a net margin of 18.93% and a return on equity of 13.84%.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 3rd. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GTS Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in the second quarter worth $219,000. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina during the first quarter worth $236,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 7,136 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 1,184 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in the 1st quarter valued at $369,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 35,324 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,383,000 after buying an additional 1,112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating. Based on data from MarketBeat, Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina presently has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

About Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc is the bank holding company for Peoples Bank, a community banking institution headquartered in Newton, North Carolina. Through its banking subsidiary, the company provides financial services to individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations.

Peoples Bank offers deposit products, including checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposit accounts, along with consumer, residential mortgage, commercial and real estate lending.