Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Given New $38.00 Price Target at DA Davidson

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) had its target price upped by DA Davidson from $37.00 to $38.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. DA Davidson currently has a buy rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on PEBO. Hovde Group raised their price objective on Peoples Bancorp from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Peoples Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.13.

Peoples Bancorp Price Performance

Peoples Bancorp stock opened at $33.92 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $32.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.31. Peoples Bancorp has a one year low of $27.49 and a one year high of $35.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 0.64.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.02. Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.82% and a net margin of 17.92%.The firm had revenue of $119.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $118.72 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Peoples Bancorp will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. This is a positive change from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 54.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peoples Bancorp

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PEBO. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 524.0% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Peoples Bancorp

Here are the key news stories impacting Peoples Bancorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — reported roughly $0.82 EPS and revenue ~ $119.3M, topping consensus and showing year-over-year profit growth; management released the slide deck and call transcript. PEBO Q1 earnings & transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Acquisition announced — Peoples agreed to acquire Citizens National (Paintsville, KY) in a cash-and-stock deal (~$76.6M reported), expanding footprint and adding scale in an attractive regional market; analysts/coverage note this as accretive to growth. Merger announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend raised — Board declared a $0.42 quarterly cash dividend (up $0.01, ~4.9% yield annualized), demonstrating capital return focus and supporting income-seeking investors. Dividend press release
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — DA Davidson bumped its price target to $38 with a Buy, and Hovde raised its target to $36 (Market Perform), providing coverage momentum and signaling analysts view upside from here. Analyst coverage note
• Neutral Sentiment: Detailed materials available — earnings presentation and call transcript published for deeper metric review (net margin, ROE, slides). Useful for modeling but not immediate catalysts. Earnings presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst write-ups and metric breakdowns — Zacks and other outlets ran Q1 deep dives comparing key metrics to estimates and prior-year figures; useful for longer-term thesis but not single-day drivers. Zacks metrics analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Acquisition and payout risks — while the Citizens deal boosts scale, it brings execution and integration risk and is financed with cash/stock; the recently announced dividend equals a sizable portion of Q1 earnings (reported ~51.7% of Q1), which some investors may view as constraining capital for organic growth or M&A. Acquisition coverage / risks

About Peoples Bancorp

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.