Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) 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.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Peoples Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.25.

Peoples Bancorp Price Performance

Peoples Bancorp stock opened at $30.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.78. Peoples Bancorp has a 12-month low of $26.21 and a 12-month high of $37.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $115.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.20 million. Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 16.88%. Equities analysts expect that Peoples Bancorp will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.83, for a total value of $30,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,093.90. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Dwight Eric Smith purchased 1,060 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $30.27 per share, with a total value of $32,086.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $211,859.73. The trade was a 17.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PEBO. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 1.6% in the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 24,400 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 2.5% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 16,600 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 1.5% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 27,110 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $828,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 3.9% in the second quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 11,034 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 1.9% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 22,906 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. 60.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.