Columbia Banking System (COLB) Competitors

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) and Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, community ranking, earnings, dividends, media sentiment, risk and analyst recommendations.

Which has more volatility and risk, COLB or RF?

Columbia Banking System has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Regions Financial has a beta of 1.19, indicating that its share price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better earnings & valuation, COLB or RF?

Regions Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Columbia Banking System. Columbia Banking System is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Regions Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Columbia Banking System	$1.93B	2.80	$533.67M	$2.54	10.14
Regions Financial	$7.08B	2.88	$1.89B	$1.94	11.61

Does the media refer more to COLB or RF?

In the previous week, Regions Financial had 24 more articles in the media than Columbia Banking System. MarketBeat recorded 30 mentions for Regions Financial and 6 mentions for Columbia Banking System. Columbia Banking System's average media sentiment score of 1.36 beat Regions Financial's score of 1.11 indicating that Columbia Banking System is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Columbia Banking System	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Regions Financial	21 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate COLB or RF?

Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus price target of $31.25, suggesting a potential upside of 21.29%. Regions Financial has a consensus price target of $27.28, suggesting a potential upside of 21.14%. Given Columbia Banking System's higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Columbia Banking System is more favorable than Regions Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Columbia Banking System	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
Regions Financial	1 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.56

Is COLB or RF a better dividend stock?

Columbia Banking System pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. Regions Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Columbia Banking System pays out 56.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Regions Financial pays out 51.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Regions Financial has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years.

Do insiders & institutionals hold more shares of COLB or RF?

92.5% of Columbia Banking System shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.4% of Regions Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Columbia Banking System shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Regions Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is COLB or RF more profitable?

Regions Financial has a net margin of 20.20% compared to Columbia Banking System's net margin of 17.99%. Regions Financial's return on equity of 12.83% beat Columbia Banking System's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Columbia Banking System	17.99%	11.21%	1.10%
Regions Financial	20.20%	12.83%	1.32%

Does the MarketBeat Community favor COLB or RF?

Regions Financial received 668 more outperform votes than Columbia Banking System when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 62.78% of users gave Regions Financial an outperform vote while only 42.34% of users gave Columbia Banking System an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Columbia Banking System	Outperform Votes 268 42.34%	Underperform Votes 365 57.66%
Regions Financial	Outperform Votes 936 62.78%	Underperform Votes 555 37.22%

Summary

Regions Financial beats Columbia Banking System on 15 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.