Three Understated Metrics For Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Inc (NASDAQ:PEBK) You Should Know
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Inc’s (NASDAQ:PEBK) profitability and risk are largely affected by the underlying economic growth for the region it operates in US given it is a small-cap stock with a market capitalisation of US$171m. Since a bank profits from reinvesting its clients’ deposits in the form of loans, negative economic growth may lower deposit levels and demand for loan, adversely impacting its cash flow. Following the Financial Crisis in 2008, a set of reforms termed Basel III was enforced to bolster risk management, regulation, and supervision in the financial services industry. These reforms target banking regulations and intends to enhance financial institutions’ ability to absorb shocks resulting from economic stress which could expose banks like Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina to vulnerabilities. Since its financial standing can unexpectedly decline in the case of an adverse macro event such as political instability, it is important to understand how prudent the bank is at managing its risk levels. Low levels of leverage coupled with sufficient liquidity may place Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in a safe position in the face of adverse headwinds. We can measure this risk exposure by analysing three metrics for leverage and liquidity which I will take you through today.
View our latest analysis for Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina
Is PEBK’s Leverage Level Appropriate?
Banks with low leverage are better positioned to weather adverse headwinds as they have less debt to pay off. A bank’s leverage may be thought of as the level of assets it owns compared to its own shareholders’ equity. While financial companies will always have some leverage for a sufficient capital buffer, Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s leverage ratio of 9.19x is significantly below the appropriate ceiling of 20x. This means the bank exhibits very strong leverage management and is well-positioned to repay its debtors in the case of any adverse events since it has an appropriately high level of equity relative to the debt it has taken on to remain in business. Should the bank need to increase its debt levels to meet capital requirements, it will have abundant headroom to do so.
What Is PEBK’s Level of Liquidity?
As abovementioned, loans are quite illiquid so it is important to understand how much of these loans make up Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s total assets. Normally, they should not exceed 70% of total assets, however its current level of 71% means the bank has lent out 0.93% above the sensible threshold. This level implies dependency on this particular asset class as a source of revenue which makes the bank more exposed to defaulting relative to banks with less loans.
What is PEBK’s Liquidity Discrepancy?
PEBK profits by lending out its customers’ deposits as loans and charge an interest on the principle. These loans tend to be fixed term which means they cannot be readily realized, conversely, on the liability side, customer deposits must be paid in very short notice and on-demand. The disparity between the immediacy of deposits compared to the illiquid nature of loans puts pressure on the bank’s financial position if an adverse event requires the bank to repay its depositors. Since Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s loan to deposit ratio of 87% is within the sensible margin, below than the appropriate maximum of 90%, this level positions the bank cautiously in terms of liquidity as it has not disproportionately lent out its deposits and has retained an apt level of deposits.
Next Steps:
Passing two of the three checks for liquidity and leverage demonstrates a relatively sensible operational risk management by the bank. Its high liquidity and low leverage levels mean it is well-positioned to meet its financial obligations in the case of any adverse and unpredictable macro events. Today, we’ve only explored one aspect of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina. However, as a potential stock investment, there are many more fundamentals you need to consider. There are three important factors you should further research:
Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for PEBK’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for PEBK’s outlook.
Valuation: What is PEBK worth today? Has the future growth potential already been factored into the price? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether PEBK is currently mispriced by the market.
Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
