Critical Survey: Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) versus First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH)

First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) and Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

47.6% of First Mid Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.7% of Peoples Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 7.7% of First Mid Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of Peoples Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares First Mid Bancshares and Peoples Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Mid Bancshares	16.75%	10.43%	1.07%
Peoples Bancorp	20.58%	12.76%	1.46%

Volatility & Risk

First Mid Bancshares has a beta of 0.89, indicating that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Peoples Bancorp has a beta of 0.75, indicating that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for First Mid Bancshares and Peoples Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Mid Bancshares	0	1	4	0	2.80
Peoples Bancorp	0	3	1	0	2.25

First Mid Bancshares currently has a consensus price target of $38.20, suggesting a potential upside of 2.28%. Peoples Bancorp has a consensus price target of $34.25, suggesting a potential upside of 16.85%. Given Peoples Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Peoples Bancorp is more favorable than First Mid Bancshares.

Dividends

First Mid Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Peoples Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. First Mid Bancshares pays out 31.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Peoples Bancorp pays out 47.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares First Mid Bancshares and Peoples Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Mid Bancshares	$306.31 million	2.91	$68.93 million	$3.10	12.05
Peoples Bancorp	$526.82 million	1.98	$113.36 million	$3.34	8.78

Peoples Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than First Mid Bancshares. Peoples Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Mid Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Peoples Bancorp beats First Mid Bancshares on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Mid Bancshares

First Mid Bancshares, Inc., a financial holding company, provides community banking products and services to commercial, retail, and agricultural customers in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand deposits, savings accounts, money market deposits, and time deposits. The company's loan products include commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, agricultural and agricultural real estate, residential real estate, and consumer loans, as well as construction and land development, 1-4 family residential properties, and multifamily residential properties loans; and other loans comprising loans to municipalities to support community projects, such as infrastructure improvements or equipment purchases. It also offers wealth management services, which include estate planning, investment, and farm management and brokerage services for individuals; employee benefit services for businesses; and farm management and brokerage services. In addition, the company provides property and casualty, senior insurance products, and group medical insurance for businesses; and personal lines insurance to individuals. The company was formerly known as First Mid-Illinois Bancshares, Inc. and changed its name to First Mid Bancshares, Inc. in April 2019. First Mid Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Mattoon, Illinois.

About Peoples Bancorp

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. It also offers debit and automated teller machine (ATM) cards; safe deposit rental facilities; money orders and cashier’s checks; and telephone, mobile, and online banking services. In addition, the company provides various life, health, and property and casualty insurance products; third-party insurance administration; interactive teller machines; insurance premium financing; check deposit and alert notification; commercial and technology equipment leasing; fiduciary and trust; underwriting, origination, and servicing of equipment leases, and equipment financing agreements; and asset management and administration services, as well as employee benefit, retirement, and health care plan administration services. Further, it offers brokerage services through an unaffiliated registered broker-dealers; insurance premium finance lending and leasing; and credit cards to individuals and businesses, as well as provides merchant credit card transaction processing, and person-to-person payment processing services. Peoples Bancorp Inc. was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Marietta, Ohio.