Critical Contrast: CPB (NYSE:CPF) and Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB)

CPB (NYSE:CPF) and Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

88.4% of CPB shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.5% of Columbia Banking System shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of CPB shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Columbia Banking System shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares CPB and Columbia Banking System”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CPB	$365.98 million	2.47	$77.48 million	$2.99	11.61
Columbia Banking System	$2.49 billion	3.46	$550.00 million	$2.51	11.84

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CPB	21.96%	13.93%	1.10%
Columbia Banking System	19.28%	11.41%	1.30%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for CPB and Columbia Banking System, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CPB	0	1	2	0	2.67
Columbia Banking System	0	9	4	1	2.43

CPB presently has a consensus price target of $37.00, suggesting a potential upside of 6.62%. Columbia Banking System has a consensus price target of $32.13, suggesting a potential upside of 8.06%. Given Columbia Banking System’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Columbia Banking System is more favorable than CPB.

Dividends

CPB pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Columbia Banking System pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. CPB pays out 38.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Columbia Banking System pays out 59.0% 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. CPB has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Columbia Banking System has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Columbia Banking System is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk and Volatility

CPB has a beta of 0.86, indicating that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Columbia Banking System has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Columbia Banking System beats CPB on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CPB

Central Pacific Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Central Pacific Bank that provides a range of commercial banking products and services to businesses, professionals, and individuals in the United States. It offers various deposit products and services, including checking, savings and time deposits, cash management and digital banking, trust, and retail brokerage services, as well as money market accounts and certificates of deposit. The company also provides various lending activities, such as commercial, commercial and residential mortgage, home equity, and consumer loans; and other products and services comprising debit cards, internet and mobile banking, cash management services, full-service ATMs, safe deposit boxes, international banking services, night depository facilities, foreign exchange, and wire transfers. In addition, it offers wealth management products and services that include non-deposit investment products, annuities, insurance, investment management, asset custody and general consultation, and planning services. The company was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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.