Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Peoples Bancorp was upgraded from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a more favorable outlook on the stock.
• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Peoples Bancorp from $32.00 to $33.00, with an average price target of $35.25 among analysts.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $0.60, missing estimates by $0.18, despite achieving revenues of $115.02 million, which surpassed forecasts.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Peoples Bancorp from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Peoples Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $35.25.

Peoples Bancorp Trading Down 0.7%

PEBO traded down $0.22 on Friday, hitting $30.10. The company had a trading volume of 127,255 shares, compared to its average volume of 112,951. The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 0.67. Peoples Bancorp has a 12-month low of $26.21 and a 12-month high of $37.07. 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 business's fifty day simple moving average is $30.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.74.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $115.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $113.20 million. Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 16.88%. Equities research analysts expect that Peoples Bancorp will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is presently 56.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Peoples Bancorp news, Director Dwight Eric Smith purchased 1,060 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.83, for a total value of $30,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,093.90. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.41% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 3.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 926,866 shares of the bank's stock valued at $28,309,000 after purchasing an additional 26,786 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 915,692 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,965,000 after acquiring an additional 60,921 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 612,568 shares of the bank's stock worth $18,708,000 after acquiring an additional 8,058 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 451,788 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,317,000 after acquiring an additional 99,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 422.4% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 349,948 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,687,000 after acquiring an additional 282,960 shares in the last quarter. 60.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.