Institutional investors have a lot riding on Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) with 57% ownership

Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Peoples Bancorp's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• 50% of the business is held by the top 24 shareholders
• Insiders have sold recently

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 57% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And as as result, institutional investors reaped the most rewards after the company's stock price gained 5.1% last week. The gains from last week would have further boosted the one-year return to shareholders which currently stand at 19%.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Peoples Bancorp.

See our latest analysis for Peoples Bancorp

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Peoples Bancorp?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Peoples Bancorp. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Peoples Bancorp's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Peoples Bancorp. Our data shows that BlackRock, Inc. is the largest shareholder with 7.8% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 7.1% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 5.5% by the third-largest shareholder.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 24 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Peoples Bancorp

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

We can see that insiders own shares in Peoples Bancorp Inc.. It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around US$39m worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 39% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Peoples Bancorp. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Peoples Bancorp better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Peoples Bancorp that you should be aware of before investing here.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com