Financial Contrast: Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) versus Origin Bancorp (NASDAQ:OBK)

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

Dividends

Origin Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Origin Bancorp pays out 22.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina pays out 25.9% 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 raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Origin Bancorp	13.18%	7.94%	0.86%
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	15.80%	13.85%	1.00%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Origin Bancorp and Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Origin Bancorp	$355.67 million	2.77	$83.80 million	$2.65	11.98
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	$94.78 million	1.56	$15.55 million	$2.93	9.26

Origin 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 Origin Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Origin Bancorp and Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Origin Bancorp	0	1	4	0	2.80
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	0	0	0	0	N/A

Origin Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $36.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.39%. Given Origin Bancorp’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Origin Bancorp is more favorable than Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina.

Risk & Volatility

Origin Bancorp has a beta of 1, suggesting that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

54.7% of Origin Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.8% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are held by institutional investors. 6.2% of Origin Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 16.9% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Origin Bancorp beats Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Origin Bancorp

Origin Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Origin Bank that provides banking and financial services to small and medium-sized businesses, municipalities, and retail clients in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. It offers noninterest and interest-bearing checking accounts, savings deposits, money market accounts, and time deposits; and offers commercial real estate, construction and land development, consumer, residential real estate, commercial and industrial, mortgage warehouse, and residential mortgage loans. The company also offers personal and commercial property, and casualty insurance products; and Internet banking and voice response information, mobile applications, cash management, overdraft protection, direct deposit, safe deposit boxes, U.S. savings bonds, and automatic account transfer services; and mobile and online banking, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing facilities, peer-to-peer electronic pay solutions, and personal financial management solutions. The company was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Ruston, Louisiana.

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.