ECB Bancorp (NASDAQ:ECBK) Trading Up 0.5% – Time to Buy?

ECB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECBK) was up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $20.11 and last traded at $20.11. 2,752 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 16,885 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ECBK. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ECB Bancorp to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings raised ECB Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

ECB Bancorp Stock Up 0.5%

The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.04. The company has a market capitalization of $175.96 million, a PE ratio of 17.49 and a beta of 0.46.

ECB Bancorp (NASDAQ:ECBK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter. ECB Bancorp had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 5.60%. The firm had revenue of $10.16 million for the quarter.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ECB Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC raised its position in ECB Bancorp by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in ECB Bancorp by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 2,580 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in ECB Bancorp by 99.3% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 20,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 10,327 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of ECB Bancorp by 61.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 2,248 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of ECB Bancorp by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 11,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,485 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 30.27% of the company’s stock.

ECB Bancorp Company Profile

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.