Michael Ryan Kirkham Sells 986 Shares of Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Stock

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) EVP Michael Ryan Kirkham sold 986 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.47, for a total transaction of $32,015.42. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Peoples Bancorp Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of PEBO stock opened at $32.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 0.68. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.21 and a 12-month high of $34.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $32.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.72.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $119.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.97 million. Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.51% and a net margin of 17.27%. Equities research analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PEBO. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in Peoples Bancorp by 422.4% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 349,948 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,687,000 after purchasing an additional 282,960 shares during the period. Align Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,318,000. CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,887,000. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 391.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 198,742 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,968,000 after buying an additional 158,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 248.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 211,869 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,362,000 after buying an additional 151,125 shares during the period. 60.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Peoples Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. DA Davidson set a $35.00 price objective on Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.63.

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.