Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Earns “Equal Weight” Rating from Stephens

Stephens reiterated their equal weight rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $34.00 price objective on the bank’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a market perform rating and set a $33.00 price objective (down previously from $36.00) on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 1st. They set a market perform rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Peoples Bancorp from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued an overweight rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Peoples Bancorp presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $33.40.

Peoples Bancorp Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of PEBO stock opened at $29.76 on Wednesday. Peoples Bancorp has a 1 year low of $23.05 and a 1 year high of $34.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $28.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 0.76.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The bank reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.10. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 20.17% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The firm had revenue of $112.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $115.00 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.38%. This is an increase from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 160.6% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 552,649 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,657,000 after purchasing an additional 340,566 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,815,196 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,281,000 after purchasing an additional 213,264 shares in the last quarter. River Oaks Capital LLC lifted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 366.0% in the 3rd quarter. River Oaks Capital LLC now owns 109,500 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,779,000 after purchasing an additional 86,000 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 220.5% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 76,995 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,599,000 after purchasing an additional 52,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,412,411 shares of the bank’s stock worth $81,444,000 after purchasing an additional 51,087 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Bancorp Company Profile

Peoples Bancorp Inc operates as the holding company for Peoples Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. The company accepts various deposit products, including demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and governmental deposits; and provides commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, construction, finance, residential real estate, and consumer indirect and direct loans, as well as home equity lines of credit and overdrafts.