Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Peoples Bancorp Inc. has received an average rating of "Hold" from five analysts, with three holding and two buying the stock, and an average twelve-month price target of $35.25.
• The company recently reported an EPS of $0.60 for its last quarter, missing analysts' expectations, while revenue reached $115.02 million, exceeding estimates.
• Peoples Bancorp recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41, representing an annual yield of 5.4% and a payout ratio of 56.16%.

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the five analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.25.

PEBO has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Peoples Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Peoples Bancorp from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Peoples Bancorp from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday.

Peoples Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of PEBO opened at $30.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. Peoples Bancorp has a one year low of $26.21 and a one year high of $37.07. The stock's fifty day moving average is $30.05 and its 200-day moving average is $29.73.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.60 EPS 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 net margin of 16.88% and a return on equity of 9.46%. Equities analysts anticipate that Peoples Bancorp will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Peoples Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.83, for a total value of $30,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,330 shares in the company, valued at $750,093.90. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Dwight Eric Smith purchased 1,060 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $30.27 per share, with a total value of $32,086.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,999 shares in the company, valued at $211,859.73. This trade represents a 17.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.41% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 16,600 shares of the bank's stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 1,191.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,718 shares of the bank's stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 3,430 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 22,527 shares of the bank's stock valued at $688,000 after buying an additional 1,688 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 294,790 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,003,000 after buying an additional 5,976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 93,668 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,861,000 after buying an additional 34,567 shares during the last quarter. 60.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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