Critical Comparison: Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) & Brunswick Bancorp (OTCMKTS:BRBW)

Insider and Institutional Ownership

43.8% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.5% of Brunswick Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.9% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	15.27%	12.92%	0.98%
Brunswick Bancorp	20.13%	N/A	N/A

Volatility & Risk

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Brunswick Bancorp has a beta of 0.05, meaning that its share price is 95% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina and Brunswick Bancorp”s top-line 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	$70.22 million	2.26	$15.55 million	$2.95	9.84
Brunswick Bancorp	$16.41 million	2.75	$3.85 million	$1.21	13.22

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

Summary

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina beats Brunswick Bancorp on 8 of the 11 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 Brunswick Bancorp

Brunswick Bancorp is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of consumer and commercial banking services. It offers personal banking, checking, certificate of deposit accounts, business checking, equipment leasing, commercial mortgages, small business loans, construction loans, and merchant services. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in New Brunswick, NJ.