Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.38.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COLB. Barclays lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of COLB. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in Columbia Banking System by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 647,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,478,000 after acquiring an additional 45,624 shares during the period. Angel Oak Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter worth about $837,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 33,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $908,000 after buying an additional 4,885 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 11,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 171.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

NASDAQ COLB opened at $27.34 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.00. Columbia Banking System has a 52-week low of $17.08 and a 52-week high of $32.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 0.67.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. On average, analysts predict that Columbia Banking System will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.69%.

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.