Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $30.38.

A number of brokerages recently commented on COLB. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Stephens lowered their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB opened at $26.51 on Monday. Columbia Banking System has a twelve month low of $17.08 and a twelve month high of $32.85. The firm has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.63 and a 200-day moving average of $27.32.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. On average, analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COLB. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,249,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,659,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $173,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611,563 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 158.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,851,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,001,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134,544 shares in the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,593,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1,001.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 962,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,126,000 after acquiring an additional 874,986 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.