StockNews.com Upgrades Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) to Hold

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

COLB has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler reissued an overweight rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $20.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $25.04.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.6 %

COLB stock traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $23.33. 470,672 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,502,319. Columbia Banking System has a 12 month low of $17.08 and a 12 month high of $28.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $472.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $476.01 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 15.94% and a return on equity of 10.89%. Columbia Banking System’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.80%.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in COLB. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 113.4% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 85.1% in the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 144.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.