Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $38.87, but opened at $35.83. Peoples Bancorp shares last traded at $36.8380, with a volume of 96,037 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Peoples Bancorp from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Piper Sandler set a $46.00 price target on Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Peoples Bancorp from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Peoples Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.00.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.86.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $121.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.05 million. Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.71% and a net margin of 19.17%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Peoples Bancorp’s payout ratio is 50.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Matthew Edgell sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.27, for a total value of $123,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $832,952.41. This represents a 12.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dwight Smith acquired 1,000 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was purchased 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 approximately $408,291.36. This represents a 10.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEBO. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 3.5% in the second quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 14,754 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 10.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,586 shares of the bank’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 87.0% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,307 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plan A Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC now owns 10,389 shares of the bank’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. 60.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Peoples Bancorp

Peoples Bancorp Inc is a financial holding company headquartered in Marietta, Ohio. Through its principal subsidiary, Peoples Bank, the company provides community banking services to consumers, businesses and institutions.

Its offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial mortgages, consumer and business loans, credit and debit cards, cash-management services and online and mobile banking. Peoples also provides wealth-management, trust and investment services, as well as insurance products through affiliated businesses.

Founded in 1902, Peoples Bancorp has developed a regional banking franchise serving communities across Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia.