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

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.19.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on COLB. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Raymond James increased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $52,000 after buying an additional 1,380 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 54.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 44.1% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,548 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 8,253.4% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 6,025 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.8 %

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $29.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.99. Columbia Banking System has a twelve month low of $17.08 and a twelve month high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $765.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $478.80 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.13% and a net margin of 16.15%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Columbia Banking System will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.34%.

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.