Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities 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 target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $33.6250.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Peoples Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. DA Davidson set a $35.00 price target on Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Peoples Bancorp Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ PEBO opened at $31.63 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $32.38 and its 200-day moving average is $30.80. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 0.68. Peoples Bancorp has a twelve month low of $26.21 and a twelve month high of $34.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.05. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 17.27% and a return on equity of 9.51%. The company had revenue of $119.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.97 million. Equities research analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael Ryan Kirkham sold 986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.47, for a total value of $32,015.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,289 shares in the company, valued at $528,903.83. This represents a 5.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,895 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $605,723.33. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,881 shares of company stock worth $187,392. Insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEBO. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $35,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in Peoples Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Peoples Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

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.