Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Given “Neutral” Rating at Wedbush

Wedbush reissued their neutral rating on shares of Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $20.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Wedbush also issued estimates for Columbia Banking System’s Q3 2024 earnings at $0.58 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $2.65 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on COLB. UBS Group lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James lowered shares of Columbia Banking System from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating and set a $25.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Columbia Banking System from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $22.19.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock opened at $19.12 on Friday. Columbia Banking System has a twelve month low of $17.08 and a twelve month high of $28.11. The firm has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.14.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.12. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.66% and a net margin of 16.52%. The company had revenue of $473.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $480.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Aaron James Deer acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.32 per share, with a total value of $38,640.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 36,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $711,942. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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, VP Christopher Merrywell purchased 5,000 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.09 per share, for a total transaction of $105,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 50,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,832.43. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 35,133 shares of company stock worth $719,737 over the last three months. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in COLB. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 0.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 27.2% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Columbia Banking System by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 19,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 34,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $925,000 after acquiring an additional 781 shares during 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.