StockNews.com Upgrades Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) to “Buy”

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Stock Up 1.4 %

PEBK stock opened at $26.96 on Thursday. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a 52-week low of $23.74 and a 52-week high of $33.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.15 million, a P/E ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 0.60.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 12.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 606.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 426,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,340,000 after buying an additional 366,459 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 203.6% in the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 61,243 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,914,000 after buying an additional 41,069 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,510 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after buying an additional 3,791 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 39,911 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,247,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 31,765 shares of the bank’s stock worth $993,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.83% of the company’s stock.

About Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Peoples Bank that provides various banking products and services for individuals and small-to medium-sized businesses. It offers checking, savings, money market, and retirement accounts; certificates of deposits; and credit and debit cards.