Wedbush Brokers Cut Earnings Estimates for Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) – Investment analysts at Wedbush decreased their Q1 2024 earnings estimates for Columbia Banking System in a report issued on Wednesday, March 27th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $0.53 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.64. Wedbush has a “Neutral” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Columbia Banking System’s current full-year earnings is $2.32 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Columbia Banking System’s Q2 2024 earnings at $0.55 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.60 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $2.35 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.64 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.67 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.65 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $0.64 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on COLB. UBS Group cut their price objective 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Columbia Banking System from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. Raymond James cut shares of Columbia Banking System from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Columbia Banking System from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $25.00 in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Stephens cut shares of Columbia Banking System from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $24.00 in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.04.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 4.0 %

COLB stock opened at $19.10 on Thursday. Columbia Banking System has a twelve month low of $17.18 and a twelve month high of $28.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.37.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.35). Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 12.71% and a return on equity of 10.27%. The firm had revenue of $519.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $525.94 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 52.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 87.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In related news, CFO Ron L. Farnsworth acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.71 per share, for a total transaction of $51,775.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 160,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,315,111.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director John F. Schultz acquired 8,559 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.39 per share, with a total value of $174,518.01. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 41,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $853,729.30. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Ron L. Farnsworth acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.71 per share, for a total transaction of $51,775.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 160,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,315,111.83. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 35,133 shares of company stock valued at $719,737. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1,506.8% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,326 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 152.2% in the 1st quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Pacific Financial purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

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.