LSV Asset Management Decreases Stock Position in Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO)

LSV Asset Management lowered its position in Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 215,759 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned 0.61% of Peoples Bancorp worth $7,284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $226,000. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 13,294 shares of the bank’s stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 2,009 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 273,435 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,940,000 after purchasing an additional 35,603 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,733,426 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,994,000 after purchasing an additional 12,449 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Peoples Bancorp

In other Peoples Bancorp news, CEO Tyler J. Wilcox sold 8,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.01, for a total value of $250,095.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 40,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,167,101.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Peoples Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of PEBO opened at $30.21 on Thursday. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.05 and a 12 month high of $34.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.59. The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 0.76.

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.30%. This is a positive change from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down from $36.00) on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Peoples Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 27th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 1st. They set a “market perform” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Peoples Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.40.

Peoples Bancorp 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.