Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $33.1250.

A number of analysts have commented on PEBO shares. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Peoples Bancorp in a report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Peoples Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded Peoples Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $36.00 to $33.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of PEBO stock opened at $30.11 on Friday. Peoples Bancorp has a 12 month low of $26.21 and a 12 month high of $37.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.53 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.07. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 16.57% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company had revenue of ($221.08) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.88 million. Analysts forecast that Peoples Bancorp will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 4th. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.34%.

Insider Activity at Peoples Bancorp

In other Peoples Bancorp news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total transaction of $30,220.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 23,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,238.74. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 24,400 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in Peoples Bancorp by 2.5% during the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 16,600 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $508,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in Peoples Bancorp by 1.5% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 27,110 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $828,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 3.9% during the second quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 11,034 shares of the bank’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 1.9% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 22,906 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. 60.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Peoples Bancorp

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.