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

Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.8571.

Several brokerages have recently commented on COLB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $26.50 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 194.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 141.3% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 53.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,790 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 5.0%

NASDAQ COLB traded up $1.2680 on Monday, reaching $26.5880. 532,722 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,964,226. The business's fifty day moving average price is $24.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.62. Columbia Banking System has a fifty-two week low of $19.61 and a fifty-two week high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $511.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $492.00 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 17.98%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

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.