Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays upped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush upgraded Columbia Banking System from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and raised their price target for the company from $28.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $25.50.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $25.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.12. Columbia Banking System has a 52-week low of $17.08 and a 52-week high of $28.11. The company has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.64.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 15.94% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The company had revenue of $472.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $476.01 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth about $963,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 33,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $875,000 after acquiring an additional 3,211 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 17,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,734 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 13,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 5,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 294,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,862,000 after purchasing an additional 4,661 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Columbia Banking System

Columbia Banking System, Inc operates as the holding company of Umpqua Bank that provides banking, private banking, mortgage, and other financial services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business, non-interest bearing checking, interest-bearing checking and savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts; and insured cash sweep and other investment sweep solutions.