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

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.6250.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PEBO shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Peoples Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. DA Davidson set a $35.00 target price on Peoples Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Down 0.8%

PEBO opened at $31.45 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $32.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.81. Peoples Bancorp has a twelve month low of $26.21 and a twelve month high of $34.33. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $119.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.97 million. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 17.27% and a return on equity of 9.51%. Equities research analysts forecast that Peoples Bancorp will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael Ryan Kirkham sold 986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.47, for a total value of $32,015.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $528,903.83. This trade represents a 5.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,895 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.37, for a total transaction of $59,446.15. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $605,723.33. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 5,881 shares of company stock valued at $187,392 in the last quarter. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Peoples Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 524.0% in the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,184 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 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 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.