Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Shares Gap Up After Dividend Announcement

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $30.46, but opened at $31.20. Peoples Bancorp shares last traded at $30.07, with a volume of 18,267 shares traded.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.23%. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Peoples Bancorp in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.25.

Peoples Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.08. The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.70 and a beta of 0.75.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.01). Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 12.76%. The company had revenue of $154.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David F. Dierker sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.36, for a total value of $30,360.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,330 shares in the company, valued at $313,618.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 2,121 shares of company stock worth $64,340 over the last three months. 3.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEBO. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 586,015 shares of the bank’s stock worth $17,580,000 after purchasing an additional 123,423 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 158.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 57,631 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 35,333 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $1,011,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $981,000. Finally, Black Maple Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $966,000. 60.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.