Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

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

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on COLB. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Wedbush reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet lowered Columbia Banking System from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $22.19.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of COLB stock opened at $20.23 on Monday. 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 $4.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.68 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s 50 day moving average is $18.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.14.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $473.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $480.39 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 16.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Columbia Banking System will post 2.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.12%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 91,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,853,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 595 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.3% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 261,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,068,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 3.8% in the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 19,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 725 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 34,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $925,000 after acquiring an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. 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.