Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB – Get Rating) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $36.00.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Friday, February 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 22nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 22nd.

COLB opened at $28.12 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $31.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.52. The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 0.68. Columbia Banking System has a 52 week low of $27.61 and a 52 week high of $44.20.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.15. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 9.30% and a net margin of 31.91%. The business had revenue of $170.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.09 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 4th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.27%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.86%.

In other news, CFO Aaron James Deer purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.00 per share, with a total value of $84,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 15,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $431,956. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,810,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $187,508,000 after buying an additional 853,211 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 1st quarter valued at about $572,000. Maven Securities LTD lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. Maven Securities LTD now owns 124,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,020,000 after buying an additional 26,252 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 70.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,110,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,822,000 after buying an additional 457,912 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 46.1% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 29,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 9,194 shares during the period. 94.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Columbia Banking System (Get Rating)

Columbia Banking System, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Columbia State Bank that provides a range of banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, and individuals in the United States. It offers personal banking products and services, including noninterest and interest-bearing checking, savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts; home mortgages for purchases and refinances, home equity loans and lines of credit, and other personal loans; debit and credit cards; and digital banking services.

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