Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.38.

COLB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of COLB stock opened at $26.73 on Monday. Columbia Banking System has a fifty-two week low of $17.08 and a fifty-two week high of $32.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a PE ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.38.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 62.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.