Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 21,276 Shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. $PEBO

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Peoples Bancorp Inc. by 1.1%, selling 21,276 shares and owning approximately 5.56% of the company, valued at $58.76 million.
• In the latest quarterly earnings report, Peoples Bancorp missed estimates with an EPS of $0.60, below the expected $0.78, while reporting revenue of $115.02 million, slightly surpassing expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41, with an annualized dividend of $1.64, providing a yield of 5.3% and a payout ratio of 56.16% for shareholders.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO - Free Report) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,981,090 shares of the bank's stock after selling 21,276 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 5.56% of Peoples Bancorp worth $58,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,382 shares of the bank's stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 3,591 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $289,000. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $694,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $4,986,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 49,020 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 2,882 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Peoples Bancorp from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Peoples Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Peoples Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $35.25.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of PEBO stock traded down $0.26 during trading on Thursday, reaching $30.91. 35,111 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 156,142. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 0.67. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.21 and a twelve month high of $37.07. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $30.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.92.

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

Peoples Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Peoples Bancorp news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 25,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at $804,480.80. This represents a 3.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dwight Eric Smith bought 1,060 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.27 per share, with a total value of $32,086.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $211,859.73. This trade represents a 17.85% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate 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.