Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) Receives $37.00 Average PT from Analysts

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.00.

Several analysts have issued reports on PEBO shares. Hovde Group upped their price objective on Peoples Bancorp from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Peoples Bancorp from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Peoples Bancorp from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEBO opened at $35.14 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $34.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.42. Peoples Bancorp has a 52-week low of $27.49 and a 52-week high of $35.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This is a positive change from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Peoples Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 53.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,895 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.37, for a total transaction of $59,446.15. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $605,723.33. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Dwight Eric Smith purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $34.51 per share, for a total transaction of $34,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,256 shares in the company, 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. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $62,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 524.0% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,184 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the bank’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. 60.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Peoples Bancorp

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.