Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $34.33 and last traded at $33.8150, with a volume of 7515 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Peoples Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. DA Davidson set a $35.00 target price on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $36.00 to $33.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Peoples Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Peoples Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.63.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Down 0.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $119.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.97 million. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 17.27% and a return on equity of 9.61%. As a group, research analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Peoples Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 54.85%.

Insider Transactions at Peoples Bancorp

In other news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.92, for a total transaction of $33,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,204 shares in the company, valued at $719,239.68. This trade represents a 4.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have acquired a total of 857 shares of company stock valued at $26,991 in the last quarter. 3.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Peoples Bancorp by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 877,629 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,360,000 after buying an additional 3,427 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $1,817,000. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $243,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Abacus Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Peoples Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $407,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

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.