Dwight Eric Smith Purchases 1,000 Shares of Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Stock

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) Director Dwight Eric Smith purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.81 per share, for a total transaction of $39,810.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 10,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $408,291.36. The trade was a 10.80% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Peoples Bancorp Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:PEBO opened at $42.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.69 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.49 and a 12-month high of $42.29.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $121.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.05 million. Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.79% and a net margin of 19.17%. Equities research analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PEBO shares. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler set a $46.00 price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Peoples Bancorp from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Hovde Group boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report on Friday, May 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Peoples Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PEBO. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in Peoples Bancorp by 422.4% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 349,948 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,687,000 after buying an additional 282,960 shares in the last quarter. Align Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $5,318,000. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 391.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 198,742 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,968,000 after acquiring an additional 158,327 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 248.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 211,869 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,362,000 after acquiring an additional 151,125 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 46.9% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 400,064 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,998,000 after acquiring an additional 127,778 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

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.