Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $33.2692.

Several brokerages have commented on COLB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Columbia Banking System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In other news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total value of $115,269.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 18,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $554,793.72. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of COLB. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,106,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $506,069,000 after acquiring an additional 4,324,006 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,549,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $371,656,000 after purchasing an additional 408,087 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,407,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $345,113,000 after buying an additional 3,290,560 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,564,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $351,179,000 after buying an additional 163,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 140.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,666,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,237,000 after buying an additional 5,063,212 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $31.27 on Monday. Columbia Banking System has a 12 month low of $22.77 and a 12 month high of $33.67. The company has a market cap of $9.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.78.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $680.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.40 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.33% and a net margin of 19.96%.During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Columbia Banking System will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.96%.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its principal subsidiary, Columbia State Bank. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the company provides a full range of banking and financial services to commercial, small business and consumer customers. Its branch network is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where it aims to combine local decision-making with the resources of a larger institution.

The company’s offerings include commercial real estate lending, construction and development financing, equipment and small business loans, and deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts.