Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The bank reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.02, Zacks reports. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 9.82%. The company had revenue of $119.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $118.72 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Peoples Bancorp’s conference call:

• We announced a planned merger with Citizens National Corporation (~$700M assets), expected to close in H2 2026, with consideration of 2.1 shares plus $8 cash and management forecasting 40% cost saves, tangible book earn-back <1 year, and ~+$0.20 EPS accretion in 2027.
• First?quarter results beat expectations with Diluted EPS $0.81 (consensus $0.80), NIM expansion of 4 bps, modest loan growth, improved credit metrics and capital (tangible equity to assets 8.91%), and an 11th consecutive dividend increase to $0.42/share (4.84% yield).
• Credit-related headwinds included a $9.7M provision driven by weaker macroeconomic assumptions and $3.8M of small?ticket lease charge?offs (23 bps of annualized net charge?off rate); management expects Q2 net charge?offs to remain elevated before improving in H2 2026.
• 2026 outlook (ex?merger) targets NIM 4.0%–4.2% (sensitive ~3–4 bps per 25 bp Fed move), quarterly fee income $28M–$30M, quarterly non?interest expense $73M–$75M, and loan growth toward the low end of a 3%–5% range.

Peoples Bancorp Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:PEBO opened at $33.92 on Thursday. Peoples Bancorp has a one year low of $27.49 and a one year high of $35.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.31.

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. This is an increase from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael Ryan Kirkham sold 986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.47, for a total transaction of $32,015.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,289 shares in the company, valued at $528,903.83. The trade was a 5.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.37, for a total transaction of $59,446.15. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $605,723.33. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,881 shares of company stock valued at $156,792. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 248.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 35.9% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 9,695 shares of the bank’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 2,559 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 152,746 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,587,000 after acquiring an additional 9,759 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 116,805 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,508,000 after acquiring an additional 33,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Numerai GP LLC raised its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Numerai GP LLC now owns 30,751 shares of the bank’s stock worth $923,000 after acquiring an additional 10,395 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PEBO shares. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Peoples Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.13.

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.