Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Stake in Peoples Bancorp Inc. $PEBO

Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,044 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,762 shares during the quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Peoples Bancorp were worth $887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 132.3% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 864 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $62,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 31.9% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,931 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 86.7% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,976 shares of the bank’s stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 2,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $242,000. Institutional investors own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Bancorp Trading Down 2.2%

PEBO opened at $28.43 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.89. The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.94 and a beta of 0.70. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.21 and a 52 week high of $37.07.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $118.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.88 million. Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 16.57%. Analysts forecast that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 4th. Peoples Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 57.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director W Glenn Hogan acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.49 per share, with a total value of $28,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 535,239 shares in the company, valued at $15,248,959.11. This trade represents a 0.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kevin R. Reeves bought 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $29.11 per share, for a total transaction of $36,387.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 13,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $380,031.05. The trade was a 10.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased 3,910 shares of company stock worth $113,120 in the last three months. 3.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEBO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Peoples Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. DA Davidson started coverage on Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $36.00 to $33.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Peoples Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.13.

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.