Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $39.33 and last traded at $38.6450, with a volume of 162504 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $38.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Hovde Group lifted 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, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report on Friday, May 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.50.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Down 0.9%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.41. The firm has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 0.62. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.02. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 9.75%. The firm had revenue of $119.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $118.72 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a boost from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Peoples Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 53.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Peoples Bancorp news, Director Dwight Eric Smith purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $34.51 per share, with a total value of $34,510.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 9,256 shares in the company, valued at $319,424.56. This trade represents a 12.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Peoples Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Peoples Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Peoples Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $62,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 654.3% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,100 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689 shares during the period. 60.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.