Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Increases Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Price Target to $42.00

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) had its target price boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $38.00 to $42.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price points to a potential upside of 5.32% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report on Friday, May 29th. Hovde Group lifted their target price on Peoples Bancorp from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. DA Davidson upped their target price on Peoples Bancorp from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $46.00 target price on Peoples Bancorp in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Peoples Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.00.

Peoples Bancorp Trading Up 1.0%

PEBO traded up $0.38 on Wednesday, reaching $39.88. 186,711 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 275,947. The company has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Peoples Bancorp has a one year low of $27.49 and a one year high of $40.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.08.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $121.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $120.05 million. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 9.75%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Peoples Bancorp will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Peoples Bancorp news, Director Dwight Eric Smith acquired 1,000 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $34.51 per share, with a total value of $34,510.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $319,424.56. This represents a 12.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PEBO. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 282,960 shares in the last quarter. Align Financial LLC purchased a new position in Peoples Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,318,000. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 391.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 198,742 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,968,000 after purchasing an additional 158,327 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 151,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 46.9% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 400,064 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,998,000 after buying an additional 127,778 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Bancorp News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Peoples Bancorp reported Q2 EPS of $0.96, beating estimates and improving from $0.60 a year ago, while revenue of $121.95 million also came in above expectations. PEOPLES BANCORP INC. ANNOUNCES RESULTS FOR THE SECOND QUARTER 2026
• Positive Sentiment: The company set a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, a 4.3% annualized yield, which can support investor demand for the stock. PEOPLES BANCORP INC. DECLARES QUARTERLY DIVIDEND
• Positive Sentiment: Management guided to 2026 net interest margin of 4.10%-4.30% and said it expects the Citizens merger to close in early Q4 2026, reinforcing longer-term growth expectations. Peoples Bancorp targets 4.10%-4.30% 2026 NIM while expecting Citizens merger close in early Q4 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary pieces described the stock as nearing a “defining moment” and highlighted the earnings setup, but these reports were largely interpretive rather than new fundamentals. Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Nears A Defining Moment

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.