Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $31.09 and last traded at $31.06, with a volume of 42450 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on COLB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Columbia Banking System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.12.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $26.08 and its 200 day moving average is $22.80.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.13% and a net margin of 16.15%. The firm had revenue of $765.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $478.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 13.7% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 37,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 4,551 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 71.5% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 74,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,434,000 after acquiring an additional 30,892 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 185.1% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 173,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,363,000 after acquiring an additional 112,826 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 5.6% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 154,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,979,000 after acquiring an additional 8,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System during the first quarter valued at approximately $413,000. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

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.