Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina upgraded to "hold" - update

07/20/05 - BB&T Capital Markets

NEW YORK, July 20 (newratings.com) - Analysts at BB&T Capital Markets upgrade Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Inc (PEBK) from "underweight" to "hold," while raising their estimates for the company.

In a research note published yesterday, the analysts mention that the company reported its 2Q diluted EPS significantly ahead of the estimates. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina witnessed robust top-line growth partly due to substantial NIM expansion, although its loan and deposit growth remained sluggish, the analysts say. BB&T Capital Markets expects the company’s performance to improve over the remainder of the year. The EPS estimates for 2005 and 2006 have been raised from $1.29 to $1.75 and from $1.39 to $1.86, respectively.