Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Upgraded at 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 research report report published on Saturday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $35.25.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Up 3.2%

PEBO stock traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $31.11. 142,113 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 113,440. The stock has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Peoples Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $26.21 and a fifty-two week high of $37.07. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $30.11 and its 200 day moving average price 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.18). The company 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Peoples Bancorp's payout ratio is 56.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 29,279 shares of the bank's stock valued at $928,000 after acquiring an additional 10,394 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Peoples Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $299,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 55.3% during the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 18,815 shares of the bank's stock valued at $558,000 after acquiring an additional 6,700 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Peoples Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $289,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,137 shares of the bank's stock valued at $568,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.68% of the company's stock.

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.