Old Second Bancorp (NASDAQ:OSBC) versus Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) Head-To-Head Survey

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) and Old Second Bancorp (NASDAQ:OSBC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina and Old Second Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	17.25%	12.75%	1.15%
Old Second Bancorp	20.22%	12.79%	1.65%

Dividends

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Old Second Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina pays out 23.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Old Second Bancorp pays out 16.1% 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 Old Second Bancorp has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina and Old Second Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	0	0	1	0	3.00
Old Second Bancorp	0	2	5	0	2.71

Old Second Bancorp has a consensus price target of $25.40, suggesting a potential downside of 0.70%. Given Old Second Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Old Second Bancorp is more favorable than Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina and Old Second Bancorp”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	2.11	$19.83 million	$3.64	12.18
Old Second Bancorp	$401.54 million	3.24	$80.31 million	$1.74	14.70

Old Second Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Old Second Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

43.8% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.8% of Old Second Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 14.5% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Old Second Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a beta of 0.29, meaning that its stock price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Old Second Bancorp has a beta of 0.7, meaning that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Old Second Bancorp beats Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The company also originates commercial real estate loans, commercial loans, construction and land development loans, and residential mortgage loans; and individual taxpayer identification number mortgage loans, as well as agricultural loans. In addition, it provides investment counseling and non-deposit investment products, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, tax deferred annuities, and related brokerage services; and real estate appraisal and brokerage services. Further, the company operates as a clearing-house for the provision of appraisal services for community banks; and acquires, manages, and disposes real property, other collateral, and other assets obtained in the ordinary course of collecting debts. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Newton, North Carolina.

About Old Second Bancorp

Old Second Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Old Second National Bank that provides community banking services. It offers demand, NOW, money market, savings, time deposit, individual retirement, and checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposit accounts. The company also provides commercial loans; lease financing receivables; commercial real estate loans; construction loans; residential real estate loans, such as residential first mortgage and second mortgage loans; home equity line of credit; consumer loans, including motor vehicle, home improvement, and signature loans; installment and agricultural loans; residential mortgages; and overdraft checking. In addition, it offers safe deposit services; trust and wealth management services; and money orders, cashier’s checks, foreign currency, direct deposits, discount brokerage, debit and credit cards, and other services, as well as acquires the U.S. treasury notes and bonds. Further, the company provides online and mobile banking; corporate cash management products, including remote and mobile deposits capture, investment sweep accounts, zero balance accounts, automated tax payments, automatic teller machines access, telephone banking, lockbox accounts, automated clearing house transactions, account reconciliation, controlled disbursement, detail and general information reporting, foreign and domestic wire transfers, and vault services for currency and coin; and investment, agency, and custodial services for individual, corporate, and not-for-profit clients. Old Second Bancorp, Inc. was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Aurora, Illinois.