Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Analysts

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $42.00.

PEBO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Zacks Research raised Peoples Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Peoples Bancorp from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th.

Peoples Bancorp Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Peoples Bancorp stock opened at $38.39 on Thursday. Peoples Bancorp has a 1 year low of $28.01 and a 1 year high of $42.29. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.97.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The bank reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $124.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.40 million. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 11.10%. Analysts expect that Peoples Bancorp will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 49.56%.

Insider Activity at Peoples Bancorp

In related news, EVP Hugh Donlon sold 2,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total value of $101,018.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,365 shares in the company, valued at $700,073.80. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Matthew Edgell sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.27, for a total value of $123,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $832,952.41. The trade was a 12.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,650 shares of company stock valued at $300,588. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 39.9% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,558 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 1,301 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $190,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in Peoples Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $201,000. 60.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Peoples Bancorp

Peoples Bancorp Inc is a financial holding company headquartered in Marietta, Ohio. Through its principal subsidiary, Peoples Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations and public-sector customers.

Peoples Bank offers deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, consumer loans, credit cards, treasury management and other financial services. The company also provides wealth management, trust and investment services, as well as insurance products through affiliated operations.

Founded in 1902, Peoples Bancorp serves communities primarily in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia through a network of banking offices and digital banking channels.