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

Key Points

• Columbia Banking System, Inc. has received an average consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, with fourteen holding the stock, three giving a buy rating, and one assigning a strong buy rating.
• The company reported earnings of $0.76 per share, surpassing analyst expectations, alongside a quarterly revenue of $511.55 million, which is notably higher than the anticipated $492 million.
• Columbia Banking System announced a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, representing an annualized payout of $1.44 and a dividend yield of 5.4%.

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.2667.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COLB. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Columbia Banking System from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ COLB opened at $26.58 on Tuesday. Columbia Banking System has a 12 month low of $19.61 and a 12 month high of $32.85. The stock has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 0.60. The company's 50 day moving average is $25.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.35.

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

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COLB. West Oak Capital LLC purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 141.3% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 53.5% in the second 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 last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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