Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) Director Sells $17,344.09 in Stock

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) Director David F. Dierker sold 521 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total value of $17,344.09. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $411,198.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PEBO opened at $33.22 on Thursday. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.84 and a 52 week high of $34.85. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.95 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s fifty day moving average is $29.85 and its 200-day moving average is $29.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.01). Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The business had revenue of $154.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 5th. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on PEBO shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Peoples Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 27th. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $33.00 price objective (down previously from $36.00) on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,815,196 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,281,000 after buying an additional 213,264 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,412,411 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $81,444,000 after buying an additional 51,087 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 160.6% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 552,649 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,657,000 after acquiring an additional 340,566 shares in the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Peoples Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $526,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 11,988 shares of the bank’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the period. 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.