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

Shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.00.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. DA Davidson upped their price target 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. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peoples Bancorp

In other Peoples Bancorp news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.37, for a total value of $59,446.15. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $605,723.33. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dwight Eric Smith purchased 1,000 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $34.51 per share, with a total value of $34,510.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly 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. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,881 shares of company stock worth $122,872. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PEBO. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Peoples Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Peoples Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Peoples Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $62,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 524.0% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,184 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of PEBO stock opened at $34.78 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.22. Peoples Bancorp has a 52 week low of $27.49 and a 52 week high of $35.46.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.02. The business 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, sell-side analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

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