Columbia Banking System, Inc. (COLB) - What Are Researchers Thinking About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Hold”: Nine of 14 analysts rate Columbia Banking System a hold and five recommend buying, with an average 12-month price target of $33.23 versus the reported share price of $28.44.
• Recent results were mixed but earnings beat expectations: The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.76, exceeding estimates of $0.73, while revenue of $677 million came in below the $687.4 million consensus estimate.
• Income and institutional support remain notable: Columbia Banking System pays an annualized dividend of $1.48, yielding approximately 5.2%, and institutional investors own 92.53% of its outstanding shares.

Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.23.

Several research firms have recently commented on COLB. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Fundamental Research set a $35.00 target price on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $28.44. The company had a trading volume of 3,695,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,780,353. The company has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.66. Columbia Banking System has a 12-month low of $24.07 and a 12-month high of $33.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $29.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.17.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.03. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.33% and a net margin of 19.96%. The company had revenue of $677.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio is 58.96%.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Columbia Banking System during the second quarter valued at approximately $880,443,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $120,867,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $68,906,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $68,245,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,104,000. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc NASDAQ: COLB is a bank holding company headquartered in Tacoma, Washington. Through its subsidiary, Umpqua Bank, the company provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions.

Umpqua Bank's offerings include deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, real estate finance, treasury management, cash management, investment services and other business banking solutions. The bank serves small and middle-market companies as well as retail customers through branches, digital banking platforms and relationship-based financial services.

Columbia Banking System traces its history to the formation of Columbia Bank in Washington in 1993.

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