Q3 Profit Jumps 74% as Peoples Financial Lifts Dividend 5.6%
PFBX sits 51% above its 52-week low of $15.52 on light trading volume (0.2× avg).
Summary
Q3 net income rose to $1.116 million from $643,000 a year earlier, lifting EPS to $0.24 from $0.14. The beat came from net interest income, up $560,000 to $5.136 million, as interest expense fell $233,000 on cheaper FHLB borrowings and deposit costs. The board raised the semi-annual dividend 5.6% to $0.19 from $0.18, payable Nov. 13 to holders of record Nov. 10. Nine-month net income was $3.459 million ($0.75/share) versus $3.195 million, helped by a $398,000 discrete tax benefit. The soft spot is capital: shareholders' equity fell $2.425 million to $98.242 million as unrealized securities losses widened to $33.982 million from $28.929 million at year-end, though the bank's leverage ratio held at 14.89%. Deposits grew $41.722 million to $646.151 million on public fund inflows, and loans, net rose to $292.828 million from $249.737 million.
At the time of this announcement, PFBX was trading at $23.41 on OTC in the Finance sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $108.1M. The 52-week trading range was $15.52 to $24.54. This news item was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: GlobeNewswire.