Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) in a research note published on Wednesday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services provider's stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James set a $27.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of 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. DA Davidson set a $25.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.85.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of COLB stock traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $24.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,264,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,776,612. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.47 and a 200 day moving average of $26.59. The stock has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a PE ratio of 9.80 and a beta of 0.59. Columbia Banking System has a 12-month low of $18.11 and a 12-month high of $32.85.

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

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were 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 $2,725,545.31. This represents a 4.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,256 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth about $1,784,000. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 132,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,569,000 after purchasing an additional 4,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 49,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,342,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.