Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Peoples Bancorp has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from five research firms, with an average 12-month price target of $39.00.
• Recent analyst activity has been mostly positive, including Piper Sandler raising its target to $43 and maintaining an overweight rating, while DA Davidson and Weiss Ratings also issued bullish views.
• The company recently reported Q1 earnings of $0.82 per share, beating estimates, and the stock was trading near its 52-week high at $39.39, above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

Shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.00.

PEBO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Peoples Bancorp from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report on Friday, May 29th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dwight Eric Smith bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $34.51 per share, for a total transaction of $34,510.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 9,256 shares in the company, valued at $319,424.56. This represents a 12.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $62,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the bank's stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 654.3% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,100 shares of the bank's stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689 shares during the period. 60.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of PEBO opened at $39.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Peoples Bancorp has a 1-year low of $27.49 and a 1-year high of $40.19. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.01.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $118.72 million. Equities analysts forecast that Peoples Bancorp will post 3.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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