---
title: "Peoples Bancorp targets early Q4 2026 close for Citizens merger, CEO says"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/293961542.md"
description: "Peoples Bancorp reported Q2 2026 diluted EPS of $0.78, beating consensus estimates. The company targets an early Q4 2026 close for its Citizens merger, pending approvals, with core conversion expected in early Q2 2027. Results included an $8.2 million loss on strategic investment sales related to the merger. Management reaffirmed full-year guidance, including a net interest margin of 4.1%-4.3% and stable fee-based income projections."
datetime: "2026-07-27T17:36:30.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/293961542.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/293961542.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/293961542.md)
---

# Peoples Bancorp targets early Q4 2026 close for Citizens merger, CEO says

-   Peoples Bancorp management posted Q2 2026 diluted EPS of 0.78; adjusted EPS of 0.96, above the 0.85 consensus estimate. \* Results included an 8.2 million loss on strategic investment securities sales tied to the Citizens merger planning and an effort to stay below 10 billion assets. \* Management reaffirmed 2026 net interest margin guidance of 4.1%-4.3% on a stable-rate assumption; a 25-bp Fed hike would add 6-8 bps. \* Citizens merger close targeted for early Q4 2026, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals; core conversion expected early Q2 2027. \* Full-year outlook kept: fee-based income 28 million-30 million per quarter; non-interest expense 73 million-75 million per quarter in H2; loan growth near low end of 3%-5%. Disclaimer: This news brief was created by Public Technologies (PUBT) using generative artificial intelligence. While PUBT strives to provide accurate and timely information, this AI-generated content is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial, investment, or legal advice. Peoples Bancorp Inc. published the original content used to generate this news brief via EDGAR, the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system operated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Ref. ID: 0000318300-26-000187), on July 27, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. © Copyright 2026 - Public Technologies (PUBT) Original Document: here

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