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

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.19.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on COLB shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Columbia Banking System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $20.37 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.69. Columbia Banking System has a fifty-two week low of $17.08 and a fifty-two week high of $28.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.14.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $473.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $480.39 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 16.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.07%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 405,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,231,000 after purchasing an additional 40,215 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1,633.4% in the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 1,277,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203,933 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 32.5% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,939,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,980,000 after buying an additional 967,009 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 20,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 146,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,910,000 after buying an additional 25,771 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.