Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at UBS Group

UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $30.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on COLB. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.58.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

COLB opened at $27.68 on Tuesday. Columbia Banking System has a fifty-two week low of $19.96 and a fifty-two week high of $32.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $28.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.91. The company has a market capitalization of $8.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.61.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The firm had revenue of $715.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $693.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is 65.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,241 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $63,308.25. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 100,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,838,249.25. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total transaction of $403,926.75. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,354 shares of company stock worth $561,971. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 41.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,851,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $768,375,000 after buying an additional 8,730,937 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,106,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $506,069,000 after buying an additional 4,324,006 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,407,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $345,113,000 after buying an additional 3,290,560 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 68.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,116,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $337,611,000 after buying an additional 5,313,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,564,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $351,179,000 after buying an additional 163,543 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

About Columbia Banking System

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its principal subsidiary, Columbia State Bank. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the company provides a full range of banking and financial services to commercial, small business and consumer customers. Its branch network is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where it aims to combine local decision-making with the resources of a larger institution.

The company’s offerings include commercial real estate lending, construction and development financing, equipment and small business loans, and deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts.