Wall Street Zen Upgrades Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) to Hold

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

Several other research firms have also commented on PEBO. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $37.50 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson cut their price target 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $36.00.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Performance

Peoples Bancorp stock traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $29.75. 90,406 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 134,992. The firm's 50 day moving average is $29.04 and its 200 day moving average is $31.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 0.62. Peoples Bancorp has a 52-week low of $26.21 and a 52-week high of $37.07.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Peoples Bancorp news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 25,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,717.20. This represents a 3.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 138.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 63,096 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,898,000 after purchasing an additional 36,684 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 44.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,008 shares of the bank's stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,690 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 143,286 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,541,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 18,430 shares of the bank's stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339 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.