Dwight Eric Smith Purchases 1,000 Shares of Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Stock

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) Director Dwight Eric Smith purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $39.81 per share, with a total value of $39,810.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 10,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $408,291.36. The trade was a 10.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Peoples Bancorp Trading Up 2.7%

NASDAQ PEBO traded up $1.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $41.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 101,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 279,272. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.02 and a 200 day moving average of $34.35. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.49 and a twelve month high of $41.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.62 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 (NASDAQ:PEBO) last released 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. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 19.17% and a return on equity of 10.79%. The firm had revenue of $121.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.05 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 24,366 shares of the bank’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 24,348 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 2.5% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 16,600 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $508,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 35,520 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 15,582 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PEBO. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Peoples Bancorp from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Hovde Group raised their target price on Peoples Bancorp from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report on Friday, May 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Peoples Bancorp from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $46.00 price target on Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Peoples Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.00.

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.