Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Hits New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $28.13 and last traded at $27.97, with a volume of 622845 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on COLB. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.81.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 1.1 %

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $24.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 0.64.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 15.94%. The business had revenue of $472.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $476.01 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.80%.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in COLB. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 0.3% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 261,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,068,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 85.1% during the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 58,406 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,162,000 after buying an additional 1,085 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 1,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.4% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 51,241 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $992,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

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.

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