Empowered Funds LLC Raises Holdings in Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 143,286 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 6,938 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.40% of Peoples Bancorp worth $4,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,027,413 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,915,000 after acquiring an additional 14,426 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 2.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 850,654 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,601,000 after purchasing an additional 22,285 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 153.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 352,488 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,606,000 after buying an additional 213,488 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 1.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 295,203 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,883,000 after buying an additional 5,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC grew its position in Peoples Bancorp by 21.1% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 162,956 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,903,000 after buying an additional 28,346 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEBO opened at $33.41 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $32.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.98. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 0.78. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a one year low of $26.74 and a one year high of $37.07.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 18.90%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued 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 dividend yield of 4.79%. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.34%.

Insider Transactions at Peoples Bancorp

In other Peoples Bancorp news, Director David F. Dierker sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total value of $70,720.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,927.04. This trade represents a 62.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.82, for a total value of $34,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 28,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $986,172.04. This trade represents a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,000 shares of company stock worth $169,390 over the last ninety days. 3.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Peoples Bancorp from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $37.50 target price on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Peoples Bancorp from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Peoples Bancorp from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.90.

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.