DA Davidson Forecasts Stronger Earnings for Peoples Bancorp

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO - Free Report) - DA Davidson boosted their FY2025 EPS estimates for shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report issued on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson analyst M. Navas now anticipates that the bank will post earnings per share of $3.60 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $3.30. DA Davidson currently has a "Buy" rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Peoples Bancorp's current full-year earnings is $3.19 per share.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 18.90% and a return on equity of 11.07%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.04 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Peoples Bancorp from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $37.50 price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Peoples Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $36.90.

Peoples Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEBO remained flat at $32.68 during midday trading on Friday. The stock had a trading volume of 171,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 150,908. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87 and a beta of 0.79. The company's 50-day moving average is $33.14 and its 200 day moving average is $31.95. Peoples Bancorp has a twelve month low of $26.74 and a twelve month high of $37.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Peoples Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.90%. Peoples Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.34%.

Insider Activity at Peoples Bancorp

In other Peoples Bancorp news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.13, for a total value of $34,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,322 shares in the company, valued at $1,000,759.86. This represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director S Craig Beam sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.31, for a total transaction of $137,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $815,205.60. This trade represents a 14.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,000 shares of company stock worth $411,010. Corporate insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 44.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,008 shares of the bank's stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 3,690 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,636 shares of the bank's stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 3,593 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 316.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 61,645 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,855,000 after acquiring an additional 46,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 850,654 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,601,000 after acquiring an additional 22,285 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.