ECB Bancorp (NASDAQ:ECBK) Posts Earnings Results

ECB Bancorp (NASDAQ:ECBK) announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $10.16 million for the quarter. ECB Bancorp had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 4.59%.

ECB Bancorp Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ ECBK opened at $18.67 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $163.89 million, a PE ratio of 16.23 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.43 and a 200 day moving average of $17.30. ECB Bancorp has a 1 year low of $14.82 and a 1 year high of $20.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ECBK. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ECB Bancorp from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ECB Bancorp to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy”.

Insider Buying and Selling at ECB Bancorp

In other news, Director Maura Ellen Sullivan acquired 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.50 per share, for a total transaction of $40,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,450. The trade was a 62.86% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Covalent Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of ECB Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $574,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of ECB Bancorp by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of ECB Bancorp by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 2,580 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of ECB Bancorp by 99.3% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 20,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 10,327 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of ECB Bancorp by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 43,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 30.27% of the company’s stock.

About ECB Bancorp

ECB Bancorp, Inc operating as a holding company for Everett Co-operative Bank that provides various banking products and services. The company accepts various deposit products, including certificate of deposit accounts, IRAs, money market accounts, savings accounts, demand deposit accounts, and interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking accounts. It also offers one- to four-family residential real estate, commercial real estate and multifamily real estate, construction and land, commercial, and consumer loans, as well as home equity loans and lines of credit.