Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $38.84 and last traded at $38.2380, with a volume of 1406535 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PEBO shares. Hovde Group lifted their price target on Peoples Bancorp from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $34.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.15. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84.

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

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. This is a boost from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peoples Bancorp

In other news, Director Dwight Eric Smith purchased 1,000 shares of the 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 9,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $319,424.56. This represents a 12.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PEBO. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the first quarter worth approximately $62,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 524.0% in the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,184 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Peoples Bancorp by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the period. 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.