AlphaQuest LLC Sells 10,829 Shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. $PEBO

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC reduced its holdings in Peoples Bancorp Inc. by 52.2%, selling 10,829 shares during the first quarter and owning 9,926 shares valued at $294,000 afterward.
• Peoples Bancorp's recent quarterly earnings reported $0.60 EPS, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78, despite achieving revenue of $115.02 million.
• Recently, dividends of $0.41 were declared and paid to stockholders, signifying an annualized yield of 5.3%, with a payout ratio of 56.16%.

AlphaQuest LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO - Free Report) by 52.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,926 shares of the bank's stock after selling 10,829 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Peoples Bancorp were worth $294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $2,122,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 68,716 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,178,000 after acquiring an additional 5,620 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Peoples Bancorp by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 134,700 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,269,000 after buying an additional 9,388 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 20,790 shares of the bank's stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 468.6% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,358 shares of the bank's stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 6,888 shares during the period. 60.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on PEBO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Peoples Bancorp from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Peoples Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.25.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEBO traded down $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $30.66. The stock had a trading volume of 13,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 155,290. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.21 and a 52 week high of $37.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.51 and a beta of 0.67.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.18). Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 16.88%.The company had revenue of $115.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.20 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Peoples Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 56.16%.

Insider Transactions at Peoples Bancorp

In other Peoples Bancorp news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.76, for a total value of $31,760.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $804,480.80. This represents a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dwight Eric Smith bought 1,060 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $30.27 per share, for a total transaction of $32,086.20. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,999 shares in the company, valued at $211,859.73. The trade was a 17.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.41% of the company's stock.

Peoples Bancorp Company Profile

Peoples Bancorp Inc operates as the holding company for Peoples Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. The company accepts various deposit products, including demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and governmental deposits; and provides commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, construction, finance, residential real estate, and consumer indirect and direct loans, as well as home equity lines of credit and overdrafts.