Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $33.6250.

A number of brokerages recently commented on PEBO. Weiss Ratings upgraded Peoples Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. DA Davidson set a $35.00 target price on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:PEBO opened at $31.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $32.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.80. Peoples Bancorp has a 52-week low of $26.21 and a 52-week high of $34.33.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.05. Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.51% and a net margin of 17.27%.The company had revenue of $119.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.97 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Peoples Bancorp will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.41 dividend. 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 is currently 54.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Peoples Bancorp news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,895 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.37, for a total transaction of $59,446.15. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $605,723.33. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Ryan Kirkham sold 986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.47, for a total transaction of $32,015.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 16,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $528,903.83. The trade was a 5.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over 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

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 422.4% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 349,948 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,687,000 after buying an additional 282,960 shares during the last quarter. Align Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,318,000. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 391.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 198,742 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,968,000 after acquiring an additional 158,327 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 248.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 211,869 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,362,000 after acquiring an additional 151,125 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 46.9% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 400,064 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,998,000 after acquiring an additional 127,778 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.