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

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $39.33 and last traded at $38.6450, with a volume of 162504 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Peoples Bancorp from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report on Friday, May 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

Peoples Bancorp Trading Down 0.9%

The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.41.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.02. The company 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. This is a positive change from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dwight Eric Smith bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $34.51 per share, with a total value of $34,510.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 9,256 shares in the company, valued at $319,424.56. This trade represents a 12.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PEBO. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 28.5% in the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 259,843 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,541,000 after acquiring an additional 57,650 shares in the last quarter. Amundi purchased a new position in Peoples Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $312,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,586 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 162,004 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,325,000 after purchasing an additional 9,258 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 169.7% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 44,883 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 28,243 shares in the last quarter. 60.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.