Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $35.50 and last traded at $35.5150, with a volume of 9331 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $35.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEBO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Friday, May 29th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Peoples Bancorp from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on Peoples Bancorp from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Peoples Bancorp from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.00.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Up 0.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last posted 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. Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 17.92%.The business had revenue of $119.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $118.72 million. Equities analysts expect that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.41 EPS for the current 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 $0.42 dividend. This is a boost from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Peoples Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 53.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peoples Bancorp

In related news, Director Dwight Eric Smith acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $34.51 per share, for a total transaction of $34,510.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $319,424.56. This trade represents a 12.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PEBO. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 4.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 23,996 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 46.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 101,653 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,015,000 after purchasing an additional 32,259 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,544 shares of the bank’s stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 6.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 82,290 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,441,000 after purchasing an additional 5,175 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 87.2% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 64,668 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,918,000 after purchasing an additional 30,121 shares during the last quarter. 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.