Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $29.64.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on COLB shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James set a $27.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $23.92 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.93. Columbia Banking System has a fifty-two week low of $18.22 and a fifty-two week high of $32.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 0.63.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. The business had revenue of $481.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $482.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. Columbia Banking System’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.02%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.02%.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,720,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 194.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 55.8% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 12,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 4,520 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 887,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,128,000 after buying an additional 16,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System during the first quarter worth $1,150,000. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.