Brokerages Set Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) Target Price at $37.00

Shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.50.

Several brokerages recently commented on PEBO. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Peoples Bancorp from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report on Friday, May 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peoples Bancorp

In related news, Director Dwight Eric Smith purchased 1,000 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $34.51 per share, with a total value of $34,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,256 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 28.5% during the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 259,843 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,541,000 after buying an additional 57,650 shares during the period. Amundi acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the first quarter worth $312,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 6.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 162,004 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,325,000 after acquiring an additional 9,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in Peoples Bancorp by 169.7% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 44,883 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 28,243 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ PEBO opened at $38.71 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $35.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.36. 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 company has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 0.62. Peoples Bancorp has a 1 year low of $27.49 and a 1 year high of $39.33.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $119.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $118.72 million. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 9.75%. On average, analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This is a boost from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.85%.

About Peoples Bancorp

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.