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

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

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on PEBO. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $37.50 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $36.00.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Up 0.8%

Peoples Bancorp stock traded up $0.23 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.57. The stock had a trading volume of 90,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,968. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Peoples Bancorp has a 52-week low of $26.21 and a 52-week high of $37.07. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 8.93 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.35.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $113.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $112.76 million. Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 18.90%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.20, for a total transaction of $30,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at $775,717.20. This trade represents a 3.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate 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. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 172.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,094 shares of the bank's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 815.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,108 shares of the bank's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $62,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 1,426.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,610 shares of the bank's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 2,439 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.