Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Stock Has Average Price Target of $33.62 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Columbia Banking System “Hold” overall: Nine of 14 analysts recommend holding the stock and five recommend buying, with an average 12-month price target of $33.62.
• Quarterly results topped expectations: The company reported EPS of $0.82 versus estimates of $0.77 and revenue of $702 million versus $687.74 million; revenue rose 19.4% year over year.
• The quarterly dividend annualizes to $1.48 per share, equivalent to a 4.8% yield at the stock price cited in the article.

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $33.62.

COLB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson raised shares of Columbia Banking System from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $36.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.5%

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $30.85 on Wednesday. Columbia Banking System has a 12 month low of $25.51 and a 12 month high of $33.67. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $29.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.94. The firm has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.72.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The business had revenue of $702.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders 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 4.8%. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.21%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Steven Gardner sold 10,522 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.23, for a total transaction of $328,602.06. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,479.71. The trade was a 80.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $880,443,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,549,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $371,656,000 after purchasing an additional 408,087 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the second quarter valued at approximately $120,867,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $68,906,000. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $68,245,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

Columbia Banking System is a bank holding company whose principal subsidiary, Umpqua Bank, provides commercial and consumer banking services. Its offerings include deposit accounts, business and personal lending, cash management, and other financial services for individuals, small businesses, and larger commercial clients. The company serves customers across the western United States, including the Pacific Northwest and California. Its banking operations use the Umpqua Bank name. Columbia Banking System was formed through the 2023 merger of Columbia Bank and Umpqua Bank's parent company, Umpqua Holdings Corporation.

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