Piper Sandler assumed coverage of Peoples Bancorp with an Overweight rating and $39 price target Peoples Bancorp’s high-quality deposit base, solid organic loan growth opportunities, coupled with likely core net interest margin stability in 2025, above average core fee income growth and well-controlled costs with its peer-leading tech stack, should drive superior operating leverage over the near-term and potential EPS upside, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm views the shares’ current valuation discount vs. peers as an attractive entry point and thinks Peoples is well-positioned to eventually cross the $10B-in-assets threshold.