Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Takes Position in Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH has acquired 9,746 shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc., valued at approximately $289,000, during the first quarter of the year.
• Peoples Bancorp's latest quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.60, falling short of the expected $0.78, while the company reported revenues of $115.02 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 5.8%, payable to shareholders of record on August 4th.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 9,746 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $289,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the first quarter worth $4,986,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Peoples Bancorp by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 451,788 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,317,000 after purchasing an additional 99,300 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in Peoples Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $2,414,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,122,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Peoples Bancorp by 55.4% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 184,074 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,833,000 after buying an additional 65,612 shares in the last quarter. 60.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peoples Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of PEBO traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $28.24. 187,373 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 156,717. The company has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 0.67. 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 fifty-two week low of $26.21 and a fifty-two week high of $37.07. The firm's fifty day moving average is $30.10 and its 200 day moving average is $30.23.

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

Peoples Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. Peoples Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 56.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on PEBO. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $37.50 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Peoples Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.76, for a total transaction of $31,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $804,480.80. This trade represents a 3.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Dwight Eric Smith purchased 1,060 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $30.27 per share, for a total transaction of $32,086.20. Following the acquisition, the director owned 6,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $211,859.73. The trade was a 17.85% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,962 shares of company stock worth $61,110 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.41% of the company's stock.

About Peoples Bancorp

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.