Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) in a research note published on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $27.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on 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. Wall Street Zen started coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. DA Davidson set a $25.00 price objective on Columbia Banking System and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.64.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ COLB traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.59. 1,898,309 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,784,341. Columbia Banking System has a twelve month low of $18.11 and a twelve month high of $32.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.29 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.44.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. The business had revenue of $481.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $482.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. Columbia Banking System's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis 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 61.02%.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 COLB. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 194.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 141.3% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.