Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Hits New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) shares reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $26.01 and last traded at $26.87, with a volume of 502 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Peoples Bancorp from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $37.50 price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Peoples Bancorp from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Peoples Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.38.

Peoples Bancorp Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $973.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.24 and a beta of 0.63.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 18.90%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.87%. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 25,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,717.20. The trade was 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 at this link. Insiders have sold 3,000 shares of company stock worth $94,050 in the last ninety days. 3.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 31,467 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $997,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,252 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,304 shares of the bank’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its position in 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. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,682 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Bancorp Company Profile

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.