Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Reaches New 12-Month Low at $17.15

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $17.15 and last traded at $17.17, with a volume of 97731 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $17.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COLB. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Stephens lowered Columbia Banking System from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. TheStreet lowered Columbia Banking System from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.42.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.23. The company has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 0.71.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $519.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $525.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 52.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.37%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 87.27%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John F. Schultz purchased 8,559 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $20.39 per share, for a total transaction of $174,518.01. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 41,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,729.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Columbia Banking System news, Director John F. Schultz acquired 8,559 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $20.39 per share, with a total value of $174,518.01. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $853,729.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ron L. Farnsworth acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.71 per share, with a total value of $51,775.00. Following the transaction, 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. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 35,133 shares of company stock worth $719,737. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Macquarie Group Ltd. lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 3,669.2% during the 1st quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 8,094,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $173,405,000 after acquiring an additional 7,880,183 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 65.9% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 18,791,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $402,508,000 after acquiring an additional 7,465,846 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 91.2% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,102,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $194,985,000 after acquiring an additional 4,342,755 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 1st quarter worth about $90,775,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter worth about $80,011,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

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.