Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC Buys New Holdings in Peoples Bancorp Inc. $PEBO

Key Points

• Jackson Creek Investment Advisors initiated a new position in Peoples Bancorp during the fourth quarter, buying 60,507 shares worth about $1.82 million and ending with roughly 0.17% ownership.
• Peoples Bancorp reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.82 versus estimates of $0.80 and revenue of $119.33 million slightly above forecasts.
• The bank also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.42 per share, while analysts maintained a generally positive outlook with an average target price of $37 and a “Moderate Buy” rating.

Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 60,507 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,817,000. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Peoples Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PEBO. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the third quarter worth $35,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the first quarter worth $62,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 524.0% during the third 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. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. 60.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,895 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.37, for a total value 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. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dwight Eric Smith acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $34.51 per share, with a total value of $34,510.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,256 shares of the company's stock, valued at $319,424.56. The trade was a 12.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 3,881 shares of company stock valued at $122,872 in the last ninety days. 3.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEBO opened at $34.94 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $33.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.09. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.49 and a fifty-two week high of $35.46. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.02. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 9.75%. The company had revenue of $119.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $118.72 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This is a positive change from Peoples Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Peoples Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 53.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Peoples Bancorp from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Peoples Bancorp from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Hovde Group boosted their target price on Peoples Bancorp from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Peoples Bancorp from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.00.

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.

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