Contrasting Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) & TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK)

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) and TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and risk.

Volatility & Risk

Columbia Banking System has a beta of 0.61, indicating that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TriCo Bancshares has a beta of 0.59, indicating that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Columbia Banking System and TriCo Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Columbia Banking System	19.28%	11.41%	1.30%
TriCo Bancshares	23.71%	9.92%	1.31%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Columbia Banking System and TriCo Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Columbia Banking System	0	10	4	1	2.40
TriCo Bancshares	0	3	4	0	2.57

Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus price target of $31.58, suggesting a potential upside of 8.07%. TriCo Bancshares has a consensus price target of $53.80, suggesting a potential upside of 9.06%. Given TriCo Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe TriCo Bancshares is more favorable than Columbia Banking System.

Dividends

Columbia Banking System pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. TriCo Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Columbia Banking System pays out 59.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. TriCo Bancshares pays out 36.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Columbia Banking System has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years and TriCo Bancshares has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Columbia Banking System and TriCo Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Columbia Banking System	$3.21 billion	2.64	$550.00 million	$2.51	11.64
TriCo Bancshares	$538.91 million	2.92	$121.56 million	$3.95	12.49

Columbia Banking System has higher revenue and earnings than TriCo Bancshares. Columbia Banking System is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than TriCo Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

92.5% of Columbia Banking System shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.1% of TriCo Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Columbia Banking System shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.8% of TriCo Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

TriCo Bancshares beats Columbia Banking System on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. It also provides commercial lending products, such as commercial lines of credit and term loans, accounts receivable and inventory financing, international trade finance, commercial property loans, multifamily loans, equipment loans, commercial equipment leases, real estate construction loans and permanent financing, and small business administration program financing, as well as capital markets. In addition, the company offers wealth management comprising financial planning, investment, trust, and insurance; treasury management, which includes digital and mobile banking solutions, ACH, wires, positive pay, remote deposit capture, integrated payments, integrated receivables, lockbox, cash vault, real-time payments, commercial card, and foreign exchange and international banking related products, as well as merchant services; and brokerage services, residential real estate loans and consumer loans. It serves its products to corporate, institutional, small business, and individual customers. The company was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Tacoma, Washington.

About TriCo Bancshares

TriCo Bancshares operates as a bank holding company for Tri Counties Bank that provides commercial banking services to individual and corporate customers. The company accepts demand, savings, and time deposits. It also provides small business loans; real estate mortgage loans, such as residential and commercial loans; consumer loans; mortgage, auto, other vehicle, and personal loans; commercial loans, including agricultural loans; and real estate construction loans. In addition, the company offers treasury management services; credit and debit cards; and other customary banking services, including safe deposit boxes; and independent financial and broker-dealer services. Further, it provides checking, saving, and money market accounts, as well as individual retirement accounts; equipment financing; certificate of deposit account registry service; certificated of deposit; and IntraFi cash service. TriCo Bancshares was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Chico, California.