First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 72,870 Shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. $PEBO

First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO - Free Report) by 56.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 201,967 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 72,870 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.56% of Peoples Bancorp worth $6,639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Peoples Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the first quarter worth $62,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Peoples Bancorp by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the bank's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 654.3% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,100 shares of the bank's stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 2,689 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.68% of the company's stock.

Peoples Bancorp Price Performance

PEBO stock opened at $41.66 on Monday. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.49 and a 52 week high of $42.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.59 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.11. Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.71% and a net margin of 19.17%.The company had revenue of $121.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.05 million. Analysts anticipate that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. Peoples Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Peoples Bancorp from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report on Friday, May 29th. Hovde Group lifted their target price on Peoples Bancorp from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $46.00 price target on Peoples Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Dwight Eric Smith purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.81 per share, for a total transaction of $39,810.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Peoples Bancorp Profile

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.

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