Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

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

Several other research firms have also recently commented on COLB. Raymond James upped their price target on Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a sector perform 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $25.88.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

COLB stock opened at $25.55 on Friday. Columbia Banking System has a 12 month low of $17.08 and a 12 month high of $28.11. The company has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.49.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 15.94%. The firm had revenue of $472.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $476.01 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 61.80%.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of COLB. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 85.1% during the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 144.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 111.5% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 1,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 137,166.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 4,115 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

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.