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

Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.19.

COLB has been the subject of several recent research reports. TheStreet cut Columbia Banking System from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Raymond James cut Columbia Banking System from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Columbia Banking System from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Columbia Banking System news, Director Luis Machuca acquired 4,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $20.58 per share, for a total transaction of $100,615.62. Following the transaction, the director now owns 60,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,251,984.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Luis Machuca acquired 4,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.58 per share, with a total value of $100,615.62. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 60,835 shares in the company, valued at $1,251,984.30. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Aaron James Deer bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.32 per share, with a total value of $38,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 36,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $711,942. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 9,574 shares of company stock worth $188,874 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the third quarter worth about $80,011,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,152,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1,633.4% during the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 1,277,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,936,000 after buying an additional 1,203,933 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 3,245.7% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 864,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,068,000 after acquiring an additional 838,762 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of COLB stock opened at $18.97 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.14 and a beta of 0.71. Columbia Banking System has a 1 year low of $17.08 and a 1 year high of $28.11. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.15.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 11.58%. The company had revenue of $473.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $480.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 61.80%.

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.