Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) Stock Position Lifted by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,049 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,710 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Peoples Bancorp were worth $576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEBO. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in Peoples Bancorp by 136.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 78,527 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,993,000 after purchasing an additional 45,328 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Peoples Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,383,000. Peoples Bank OH grew its position in Peoples Bancorp by 0.9% during the third quarter. Peoples Bank OH now owns 609,323 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,465,000 after purchasing an additional 5,721 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in Peoples Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $934,000. Finally, River Oaks Capital LLC grew its position in Peoples Bancorp by 366.0% during the third quarter. River Oaks Capital LLC now owns 109,500 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,779,000 after purchasing an additional 86,000 shares in the last quarter. 60.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Peoples Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ PEBO opened at $29.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.36. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 0.76. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.05 and a 1 year high of $34.85.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The bank reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $112.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $115.00 million. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 20.17% and a return on equity of 12.93%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.35 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on PEBO. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $33.00 target price (down from $36.00) on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Peoples Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.40.

Peoples Bancorp Company Profile

Peoples Bancorp Inc operates as the holding company for Peoples Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. The company accepts various deposit products, including demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and governmental deposits; and provides commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, construction, finance, residential real estate, and consumer indirect and direct loans, as well as home equity lines of credit and overdrafts.