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

Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the fourteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.29.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial set a $27.00 target price on Columbia Banking System and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of COLB traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $24.81. 1,189,972 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,806,871. Columbia Banking System has a 1 year low of $19.08 and a 1 year high of $32.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 0.62. The business's 50-day moving average price is $23.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.07.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $481.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $482.86 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.12% and a net margin of 16.85%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.80%. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 221.3% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,947,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $148,342,000 after buying an additional 4,096,733 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,249,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 18.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,527,612 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $162,791,000 after buying an additional 1,012,796 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,476,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 528.4% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 742,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,508,000 after buying an additional 624,011 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.