Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Raised to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Peoples Bancorp has been upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating, with Zacks Research and Weiss Ratings also giving it a "hold" rating.
• The stock opened at $30.11, with a market capitalization of $1.07 billion and a PE ratio of 10.53; it had a 12-month high of $37.07.
• Insider transactions reveal that Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares, decreasing her ownership by 4.04% and indicating ongoing activity among company insiders.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on PEBO. Zacks Research raised Peoples Bancorp from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Peoples Bancorp from $36.00 to $33.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. 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, DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Peoples Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.13.

Peoples Bancorp Trading Up 3.6%

Peoples Bancorp stock opened at $30.11 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.53 and a beta of 0.63. Peoples Bancorp has a 12-month low of $26.21 and a 12-month high of $37.07.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.07. The business had revenue of ($221.08) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $116.88 million. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 16.57% and a return on equity of 9.45%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Peoples Bancorp will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Peoples Bancorp

In other news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total value of $30,220.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at $718,238.74. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 3.41% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEBO. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $42,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $487,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,407 shares of the bank's stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 24,357 shares of the bank's stock valued at $730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 173.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 21,431 shares of the bank's stock valued at $643,000 after acquiring an additional 13,583 shares in the last quarter. 60.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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