Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) Stock: Insider James Abernethy Sells 1,000 Shares

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) Director James Abernethy sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $43,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 64,626 shares in the company, valued at $2,829,972.54. This represents a 1.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Stock Performance

Shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina stock opened at $44.03 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $240.40 million, a PE ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 0.30. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.33 and a 12 month high of $45.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.42.

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

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 33.3% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 37,614 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 9,407 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina during the first quarter worth approximately $369,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 4.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 167,283 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,551,000 after buying an additional 7,404 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in the first quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Finally, GTS Securities LLC bought a new stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in the second quarter valued at approximately $219,000. 43.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Company Profile

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.