Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.50 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Stephens boosted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.04.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $26.35 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.82. Columbia Banking System has a 52 week low of $19.61 and a 52 week high of $32.70. The stock has a market cap of $7.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.60.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $715.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $693.23 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 11.40%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.49%.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,241 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $63,308.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 100,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,838,249.25. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total value of $403,926.75. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 18,206 shares of company stock worth $531,859 over the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 5,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 9,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 38,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 122,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,422,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 9,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its principal subsidiary, Columbia State Bank. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the company provides a full range of banking and financial services to commercial, small business and consumer customers. Its branch network is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where it aims to combine local decision-making with the resources of a larger institution.

The company’s offerings include commercial real estate lending, construction and development financing, equipment and small business loans, and deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts.