Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $38.87, but opened at $35.83. Peoples Bancorp shares last traded at $36.8380, with a volume of 96,037 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PEBO. Piper Sandler set a $46.00 target price on Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Peoples Bancorp from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Peoples Bancorp from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Peoples Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.00.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Down 5.7%

The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.86. The firm has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 0.59.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $121.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $120.05 million. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 19.17% and a return on equity of 10.71%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 50.76%.

Insider Transactions at Peoples Bancorp

In other Peoples Bancorp news, insider Matthew Edgell sold 3,000 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.27, for a total value of $123,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $832,952.41. The trade was a 12.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dwight Smith acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.81 per share, with a total value of $39,810.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $408,291.36. This trade represents a 10.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 8,504 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $207,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 87.0% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,307 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 3.5% in the second quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 14,754 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $324,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

About Peoples Bancorp

Peoples Bancorp Inc is a financial holding company headquartered in Marietta, Ohio. Through its principal subsidiary, Peoples Bank, the company provides community banking services to consumers, businesses and institutions.

Its offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial mortgages, consumer and business loans, credit and debit cards, cash-management services and online and mobile banking. Peoples also provides wealth-management, trust and investment services, as well as insurance products through affiliated businesses.

Founded in 1902, Peoples Bancorp has developed a regional banking franchise serving communities across Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia.