Brokerages Set Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) Target Price at $33.63

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $33.6250.

PEBO has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson set a $35.00 price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Peoples Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th.

Peoples Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:PEBO opened at $33.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.64. Peoples Bancorp has a 52 week low of $26.61 and a 52 week high of $34.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $32.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $119.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.97 million. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 17.27% and a return on equity of 9.51%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Peoples Bancorp will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 54.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peoples Bancorp

In other news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.37, for a total value of $59,446.15. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $605,723.33. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Ryan Kirkham sold 986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.47, for a total value of $32,015.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $528,903.83. This trade represents a 5.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,881 shares of company stock worth $156,792. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Peoples Bancorp by 9.4% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,437 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,505 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 135.6% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 35,052 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 20,176 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 248.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 211,869 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,362,000 after acquiring an additional 151,125 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 35.9% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 9,695 shares of the bank’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 2,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 152,746 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,587,000 after acquiring an additional 9,759 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Bancorp Company Profile

Peoples Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Marietta, Ohio. Through its subsidiary Peoples Bank, the company provides a comprehensive range of commercial and consumer banking services designed to serve individuals, businesses and institutional clients. Its deposit products include checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit and digital banking platforms that enable secure online and mobile access.

On the lending side, Peoples Bancorp offers commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, construction and agricultural lending, as well as residential mortgage products.