Jefferies Financial Group Initiates Coverage on Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB)

Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) in a report issued on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $27.00 target price on the financial services provider's stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James set a $27.00 target price on Columbia Banking System and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays upped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.64.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Columbia Banking System stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $23.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,898,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,784,793. The company has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.29 and a beta of 0.59. The business's 50 day moving average price is $23.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.50. Columbia Banking System has a 52 week low of $18.11 and a 52 week high of $32.85.

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

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is currently 61.02%.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total transaction of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 60,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,641,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in Columbia Banking System by 1.0% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 50,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.9% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 58,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,464,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 24,313 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the period. Finally, Sippican Capital Advisors raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 0.5% during the first quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 108,027 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,694,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

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.