Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Receives Average Analyst Rating of “Hold”

Stocks of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ: COLB – Get a rating) received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that currently cover the company, reports MarketBeat Ratings. Four investment analysts gave the stock a hold rating and two issued a buy rating for the company. The 12-month average target price among brokers who updated their coverage on the stock in the past year is $35.60.

COLB has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com launched a coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Thursday, March 31. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods launched coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Friday, February 11. They set a “market performance” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced her target price on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $31.00 in a Monday, May 2 research note. Royal Bank of Canada raised its target price on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “industry performance” rating in a Friday, April 22 research note. Finally, Raymond James lowered his price target on Columbia Banking System from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the stock in a Friday, April 22 research note.

The NASDAQ COLB opened at $28.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 0.68. Columbia Banking System has a 12-month low of $27.61 and a 12-month high of $42.39. The stock has a fifty-day simple moving average of $29.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.79.

Colombia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB – Get a rating) last released its quarterly results on Thursday, April 21. The financial services provider reported earnings per share of $0.81 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.15. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 9.30% and a net margin of 31.91%. The company posted revenue of $170.38 million in the quarter, compared to $166.09 million expected by analysts. During the same period a year earlier, the company posted EPS of $0.73. The company’s revenue increased by 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect Columbia Banking System to post EPS of 2.61 for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 18. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 4 received a dividend of $0.30. This represents a dividend of $1.20 on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 3. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.86%.

In related news, CFO Aaron James Cerf bought 3,000 shares of Columbia Banking System in a trade on Monday, May 2. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.00 per share, with a total value of $84,000.00. Following the transaction, the CFO now directly owns 15,427 shares of the company, valued at $431,956. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available via the SEC website. 0.62% of the shares are held by insiders of the company.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently changed their holdings in the company. Earnest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during Q4 worth approximately $27,000. Covestor Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during Q4 worth approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during Q1 worth approximately $41,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during Q4 for a value of approximately $56,000. Finally, Pinebridge Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during Q4 worth approximately $69,000. 94.44% of the shares are currently held by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About the Columbia Banking System (Get a rating)

Columbia Banking System, Inc operates as a banking holding company for Columbia State Bank which provides a range of banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals and individuals in the United States. It offers personal banking products and services, including interest-free and interest-bearing checks, savings accounts, money market and certificates of deposit; home mortgages for purchases and refinances, home equity loans and lines of credit and other personal loans; debit and credit cards; and digital banking.

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