Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Downgraded to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Friday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $20.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $25.04.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ COLB opened at $25.18 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.23. Columbia Banking System has a 12-month low of $17.08 and a 12-month high of $28.11. The company has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 0.65.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 15.94% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The business had revenue of $472.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $476.01 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. Columbia Banking System’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Columbia Banking System will post 2.51 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 23rd. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 113.4% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 85.1% during the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 111.5% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 1,380 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is currently 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.