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

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) – Analysts at Wedbush increased their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note issued on Wednesday, March 27th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now expects that the financial services provider will earn $0.67 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.56. Wedbush currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Columbia Banking System’s current full-year earnings is $2.31 per share.

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on COLB. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. TheStreet lowered shares of Columbia Banking System from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $36.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.04.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB opened at $19.35 on Friday. Columbia Banking System has a 12 month low of $17.18 and a 12 month high of $28.11. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $19.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.36. The firm has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 0.70.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.44%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is 87.27%.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In other news, insider Aaron James Deer purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.32 per share, for a total transaction of $38,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $711,942. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Aaron James Deer purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.32 per share, for a total transaction of $38,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $711,942. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Clint Stein purchased 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $20.96 per share, for a total transaction of $199,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 165,684 shares in the company, valued at $3,472,736.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 35,133 shares of company stock worth $719,737 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 37,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,069,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 16,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. 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 buying an additional 460 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 33,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $688,000 after buying an additional 545 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.