Brokerages Set Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) PT at $31.71

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO – Get Rating) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.71.

A number of research firms have recently commented on PEBO. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Peoples Bancorp in a report on Thursday, April 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Peoples Bancorp in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Peoples Bancorp from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 6th.

Peoples Bancorp Price Performance

Peoples Bancorp stock opened at $26.52 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Peoples Bancorp has a 52 week low of $23.05 and a 52 week high of $32.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $755.42 million, a P/E ratio of 7.15 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $25.40 and a 200-day moving average of $27.93.

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 8th were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 5th. This is a positive change from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Peoples Bancorp’s payout ratio is 42.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peoples Bancorp

In related news, Director Susan D. Rector purchased 2,995 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.04 per share, for a total transaction of $74,994.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $603,363.84. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Peoples Bancorp news, Director Susan D. Rector bought 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.53 per share, with a total value of $59,913.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $602,011.53. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan D. Rector bought 2,995 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.04 per share, with a total value of $74,994.80. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 24,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $603,363.84. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 6,195 shares of company stock worth $162,738. Insiders own 2.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEBO. State Street Corp grew its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 15.4% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 826,138 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,270,000 after purchasing an additional 110,171 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,288,855 shares of the bank’s stock worth $64,660,000 after purchasing an additional 96,174 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 105.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 167,542 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,733,000 after purchasing an additional 86,181 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 4.1% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,061,563 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,640,000 after acquiring an additional 81,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP bought a new position in Peoples Bancorp in the first quarter worth approximately $1,827,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.73% of the company’s stock.

About Peoples Bancorp

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Peoples Bancorp, Inc operates as a financial holding company, which engages in banking, investment, insurance, and trust solutions. It offers various demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, commercial, consumer, real estate mortgage loans and lines of credit, debit and automated teller machine cards, credit cards for individuals and businesses, merchant credit card transaction processing services, corporate and personal trust services, safe deposit rental facilities, money orders and cashier’s checks, life, health, property and casualty insurance products, brokerage services, and custom-tailored fiduciary, employee benefit plans and asset management & administration services.