Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.12 EPS

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.12, Briefing.com reports. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 12.71%. The business had revenue of $473.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $480.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Columbia Banking System stock traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $19.38. 1,900,170 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,852,649. Columbia Banking System has a 12-month low of $17.08 and a 12-month high of $28.11. The business’s 50-day moving average is $18.50 and its 200-day moving average is $21.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 0.71.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 87.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on COLB. Stephens cut Columbia Banking System from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. TheStreet downgraded Columbia Banking System from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Columbia Banking System news, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton acquired 2,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.48 per share, for a total transaction of $49,618.80. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 25,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,018.48. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director John F. Schultz purchased 8,559 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.39 per share, for a total transaction of $174,518.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $853,729.30. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton acquired 2,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.48 per share, for a total transaction of $49,618.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,001 shares in the company, valued at $462,018.48. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 35,133 shares of company stock valued at $719,737. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

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.