Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Plans Dividend Increase - $0.38 Per Share

Key Points

• Columbia Banking System raised its quarterly dividend 2.7% to $0.38 per share, equivalent to $1.52 annually and a 5.0% yield. Shareholders of record November 27 are scheduled to be paid December 14.
• The dividend appears well covered: the current payout ratio is 48.4%, and analysts expect a 44.4% payout ratio based on next year’s projected earnings.
• In its latest quarter, the company reported earnings of $0.82 per share, beating the $0.77 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 19.4% year over year to $702 million.

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, December 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 27th. This is a 2.7% increase from Columbia Banking System's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37.

Columbia Banking System has a payout ratio of 48.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Columbia Banking System to earn $3.33 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 44.4%.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 0.0%

COLB stock traded up $0.01 on Friday, hitting $30.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,311,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,879,677. The stock has a market cap of $8.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.72. Columbia Banking System has a 1 year low of $25.51 and a 1 year high of $33.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.96.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $702.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.74 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 22.83%. Columbia Banking System's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In other news, Director Steven Gardner sold 10,522 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.23, for a total value of $328,602.06. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,479.71. This represents a 80.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the second quarter valued at about $880,443,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 3.1% during the 1st 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 bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 2nd quarter valued at about $120,867,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 51.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,000,061 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $85,802,000 after buying an additional 1,021,219 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 2nd quarter worth about $68,906,000. 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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