Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.10, Zacks reports. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 11.13%.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.1%

COLB stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $29.67. The stock had a trading volume of 3,962,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,293,992. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.60. Columbia Banking System has a 52 week low of $19.61 and a 52 week high of $30.28.

Columbia Banking System Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This is a positive change from Columbia Banking System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COLB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $30.00 price objective on Columbia Banking System and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Columbia Banking System to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.08.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 37,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $966,000 after buying an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.2% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 37,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 19.5% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 9.7% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

About Columbia Banking System

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.