Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO – Get Rating) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on PEBO. Raymond James cut shares of Peoples Bancorp from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 28th. B. Riley cut their price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $38.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 12th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 2nd. Finally, Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Peoples Bancorp from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, April 30th.

PEBO stock opened at $26.87 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Peoples Bancorp has a 52-week low of $26.56 and a 52-week high of $34.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $30.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $764.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04 and a beta of 0.85.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 26th. The bank reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.19. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 20.24% and a return on equity of 9.93%. The company had revenue of $74.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Peoples Bancorp will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a positive change from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 6th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.66%. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.79%.

In other news, EVP Michael Ryan Kirkham sold 818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.83, for a total transaction of $26,036.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.42% of the company’s stock.

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PEBO. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 103.3% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,043 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 62.9% in the first quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 45.9% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 2,289 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, River Oaks Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $130,000. 48.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Peoples Bancorp (Get Rating)

Peoples Bancorp Inc operates as the holding company for Peoples Bank that provides commercial and retail banking products and services. The company accepts various deposit products, including demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit; 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.

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