Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $36.87 and last traded at $36.72, with a volume of 22814 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEBO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Peoples Bancorp from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $34.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 0.62.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $119.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $118.72 million. Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 17.92%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This is an increase from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Peoples Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 53.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dwight Eric Smith purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $34.51 per share, with a total value of $34,510.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,256 shares in the company, valued at $319,424.56. This trade 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 this link. Insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEBO. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 1.3% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 24,366 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $801,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Peoples Bancorp by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 24,348 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 2.5% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 35,520 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 15,582 shares of the bank’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

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.