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

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the thirteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.85.

COLB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Stephens decreased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $25.00 price target on Columbia Banking System and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $23.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 0.59. Columbia Banking System has a 1-year low of $18.11 and a 1-year high of $32.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.39 and a 200-day moving average of $26.74.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $481.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $482.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is 61.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total transaction of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 104,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 141.3% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company's stock.

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.

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