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

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $34.86 and last traded at $34.63, with a volume of 102527 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Peoples Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Peoples Bancorp Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 10.08 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $30.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 20.16%. The firm had revenue of $158.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $112.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.52%. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.58%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David F. Dierker sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.36, for a total value of $30,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $313,618.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 2,541 shares of company stock worth $77,406 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 136,348 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,103,000 after buying an additional 6,834 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 6.1% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,200 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150 shares in the last quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,389 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 3,840 shares during the last quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 31,151 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $937,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management boosted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 787.3% during the 3rd quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 57,485 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,730,000 after purchasing an additional 51,006 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.