Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Downgraded to "Hold" Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research has downgraded Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating, indicating a shift in analysts' outlook for the stock.
• The current consensus rating for Columbia Banking System is "Hold" with an average target price of $29.36, while various firms have set different price objectives ranging from $24.00 to $31.00.
• Columbia Banking System reported earnings of $0.76 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showcasing a revenue increase of 8.2% year-over-year.

Zacks Research cut shares of Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Stephens upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Monday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.36.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

COLB traded down $0.36 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $26.55. The stock had a trading volume of 14,335,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,858,149. The company has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 0.66. Columbia Banking System has a twelve month low of $19.61 and a twelve month high of $32.85. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.24.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.98% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The company had revenue of $511.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $492.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. Columbia Banking System's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.14%.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.9% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,742,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $317,802,000 after purchasing an additional 116,795 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,117,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $236,538,000 after acquiring an additional 64,096 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,948,687 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $209,220,000 after acquiring an additional 1,381,597 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,816,989 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $182,761,000 after acquiring an additional 149,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,606,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $154,452,000 after acquiring an additional 658,196 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company's stock.

About Columbia Banking System

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.