Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) Share Price Passes Above Fifty Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) shares moved above their 50-day moving average, trading as high as $42.73 before last changing hands at $42.06.
• The stock received a modest ratings boost, with Weiss Ratings upgrading it from “buy (b-)” to “buy (b),” and MarketBeat data shows an overall Buy consensus.
• The company reported Q1 EPS of $0.80 and recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, equal to a 2.0% annualized yield.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $42.29 and traded as high as $42.73. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares last traded at $42.06, with a volume of 10,845 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $229.65 million, a P/E ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 0.29. The business's fifty day moving average price is $42.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.71.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 17.22%.The firm had revenue of $21.57 million for the quarter.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert C. Abernethy, Jr. sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.61, for a total transaction of $49,932.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 55,058 shares in the company, valued at $2,290,963.38. This trade represents a 2.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ashton V. Abernethy sold 950 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.26, for a total value of $40,147.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 43,838 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,852,593.88. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 4,450 shares of company stock valued at $182,895 over the last 90 days. 14.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 28.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,600 shares of the bank's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 116.7% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 932 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,684 shares of the bank's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. 43.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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