Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $36.64 and last traded at $36.5820, with a volume of 157602 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $36.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report on Friday, May 29th. Hovde Group upped their price target 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 increased their price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Peoples Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.00.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $34.38 and a 200-day moving average of $32.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.62. 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 (NASDAQ:PEBO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $119.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 forecast that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. This is a boost from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dwight Eric Smith purchased 1,000 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 9,256 shares in the company, valued at $319,424.56. The trade was a 12.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,270,134 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,619,000 after buying an additional 21,273 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,080,137 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,467,000 after purchasing an additional 48,166 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 8.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 990,923 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,718,000 after purchasing an additional 75,231 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Peoples Bancorp by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 877,629 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,360,000 after purchasing an additional 3,427 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 472,456 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,188,000 after purchasing an additional 72,392 shares in the last quarter. 60.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.