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

Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.64.

Several research firms have weighed in on COLB. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson set a $25.00 target price on Columbia Banking System and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James set a $27.00 target price on Columbia Banking System and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,238 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $844,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 151,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,115,000 after buying an additional 23,948 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 26,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $712,000 after buying an additional 1,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 16,045 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 919 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 4.0%

COLB stock traded up $0.93 on Wednesday, reaching $23.92. 1,740,369 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,782,869. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.10 and a 200-day moving average of $25.99. Columbia Banking System has a twelve month low of $18.22 and a twelve month high of $32.85. The firm has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a PE ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 0.63.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $481.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $482.86 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. Columbia Banking System's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is 61.02%.

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.