Insider Selling: Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Director Sells 1,895 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director sale: Director Carol Schneeberger sold 1,895 shares at an average price of $31.37 for $59,446 total, reducing her stake by 8.94% to 19,309 shares.
• Dividend yield: The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.41 ($1.64 annualized), implying a 5.2% yield with a payout ratio of 54.85%.
• Recent results and analyst view: Peoples Bancorp beat estimates with Q results of $0.93 EPS (vs. $0.88 est.) and $119.57M revenue, and the stock has a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a $33.63 price target.

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO - Get Free Report) Director Carol Schneeberger sold 1,895 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.37, for a total transaction of $59,446.15. Following the sale, the director owned 19,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $605,723.33. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Peoples Bancorp Trading Down 0.8%

PEBO traded down $0.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.59. 60,666 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 282,699. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock's 50-day moving average is $32.31 and its 200 day moving average is $30.78. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.21 and a 12 month high of $34.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.68.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.05. Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.51% and a net margin of 17.27%.The company had revenue of $119.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.97 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Peoples Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEBO. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 248.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 211,869 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,362,000 after purchasing an additional 151,125 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 9,695 shares of the bank's stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 2,559 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Peoples Bancorp by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 152,746 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,587,000 after buying an additional 9,759 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 116,805 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,508,000 after acquiring an additional 33,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Numerai GP LLC boosted its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Numerai GP LLC now owns 30,751 shares of the bank's stock worth $923,000 after acquiring an additional 10,395 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson set a $35.00 price target on Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings raised Peoples Bancorp from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.63.

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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