Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $21.95 and last traded at $22.42, with a volume of 1869519 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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. Stephens decreased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. DA Davidson set a $25.00 target price on Columbia Banking System and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James set a $27.00 price target on Columbia Banking System and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.85.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $23.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 0.59.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $481.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $482.86 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. Research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the sale, 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 this link. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 958 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by 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.