Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Reaches New 12-Month Low at $17.15

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $17.15 and last traded at $17.17, with a volume of 97731 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $17.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on COLB. StockNews.com lowered shares of Columbia Banking System from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $36.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.42.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.23.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.35). Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 12.71%. The company had revenue of $519.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $525.94 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 52.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Ron L. Farnsworth acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $20.71 per share, for a total transaction of $51,775.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 160,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,315,111.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Ron L. Farnsworth purchased 2,500 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.71 per share, for a total transaction of $51,775.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 160,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,315,111.83. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Clint Stein acquired 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.96 per share, for a total transaction of $199,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 165,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,472,736.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 35,133 shares of company stock valued at $719,737 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Columbia Banking System by 13.7% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 37,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $729,000 after acquiring an additional 4,551 shares in the last quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC raised its position in Columbia Banking System by 14.4% during the first quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 32,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $637,000 after acquiring an additional 4,132 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC raised its position in Columbia Banking System by 2.4% during the first quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 293,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,688,000 after acquiring an additional 6,802 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 23.3% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 92,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,786,000 after purchasing an additional 17,454 shares during the period. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the first quarter valued at about $1,266,000. 92.53% of the stock is 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.