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

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $25.65.

Several analysts recently commented on COLB shares. Wedbush upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens raised their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $25.28 on Friday. Columbia Banking System has a twelve month low of $17.08 and a twelve month high of $28.11. The stock has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $24.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.24.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $472.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $476.01 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 15.94% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The business’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System will post 2.55 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,387 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 111.5% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,380 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 4,115 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

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.