Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $37.00.

PEBO has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report on Friday, May 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.37, for a total transaction of $59,446.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $605,723.33. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Dwight Eric Smith purchased 1,000 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $34.51 per share, with a total value of $34,510.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 9,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $319,424.56. This trade represents a 12.11% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $62,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 524.0% during the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,184 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Up 0.3%

PEBO stock opened at $35.14 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Peoples Bancorp has a twelve month low of $27.49 and a twelve month high of $35.46.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $119.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $118.72 million. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 9.75%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This is a boost from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.85%.

Peoples Bancorp Company Profile

Peoples Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Marietta, Ohio. Through its subsidiary Peoples Bank, the company provides a comprehensive range of commercial and consumer banking services designed to serve individuals, businesses and institutional clients. Its deposit products include checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit and digital banking platforms that enable secure online and mobile access.

On the lending side, Peoples Bancorp offers commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, construction and agricultural lending, as well as residential mortgage products.