Peoples Bancorp Inc. delivered a fourth-quarter net income of $31.8 million, translating to diluted earnings per share of $0.89, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.88 and marking a sequential increase from $0.83 in Q3. Revenue for the quarter totaled $117.32 million, narrowly below consensus forecasts of $117.98 million. While the slight revenue shortfall reflects modest headwinds in fee income and mortgage banking revenues, the earnings beat underscores effective cost management that kept non-interest expense growth below 2% year-over-year.

Period-end loan balances rose by $28.2 million, a 2% annualized increase from the prior quarter, driven by growth in commercial and industrial lending as well as construction loans. On a year-over-year basis, total loans expanded by $398.9 million, representing 6% growth. Net interest income dipped marginally to $91.0 million from $91.3 million in Q3, and net interest margin contracted to 4.12% from 4.16%, reflecting the impact of repositioning the loan portfolio in a rising rate environment.

Credit quality improved as criticized loans declined by $31.9 million, or 12%, sequentially. Nonperforming assets as a percentage of total loans and other real estate owned fell to 0.63% from 0.66% at the end of the third quarter. Deposits decreased by $22.0 million quarter-over-quarter, leading to a slight uptick in the loan-to-deposit ratio to 89% from 88%, a level still well within the bank’s internal targets and consistent with its strategy to redeploy liquidity into higher-yielding loan assets.