Wedbush Equities Analysts Decrease Earnings Estimates for Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) – Investment analysts at Wedbush decreased their Q3 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Columbia Banking System in a report issued on Friday, April 26th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now expects that the financial services provider will earn $0.58 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.60. Wedbush currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Columbia Banking System’s current full-year earnings is $2.25 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Columbia Banking System’s FY2025 earnings at $2.65 EPS.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.12. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 11.66%. The firm had revenue of $473.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $480.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

COLB has been the topic of a number of other research reports. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.19.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 0.6 %

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $19.12 on Monday. Columbia Banking System has a 12 month low of $17.08 and a 12 month high of $28.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.16. The stock has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 0.71.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.53%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher Merrywell purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $21.09 per share, with a total value of $105,450.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 50,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,832.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Columbia Banking System news, CEO Clint Stein acquired 9,500 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.96 per share, with a total value of $199,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 165,684 shares in the company, valued at $3,472,736.64. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher Merrywell bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $21.09 per share, for a total transaction of $105,450.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 50,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,832.43. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 24,074 shares of company stock worth $493,444 over the last three months. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COLB. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Columbia Banking System by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 91,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,853,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 595 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3.8% during the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 19,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 34,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $925,000 after acquiring an additional 781 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 261,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,970,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.