Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $32.20 and last traded at $32.20, with a volume of 575 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $31.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Columbia Banking System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 5th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.12.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 0.9 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $27.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.92. The stock has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 0.62.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $765.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $478.80 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 10.13%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.54%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 2.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,109,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,623,000 after purchasing an additional 178,327 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,659,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $173,873,000 after buying an additional 1,611,563 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,191,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,153,000 after buying an additional 386,751 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,718,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $93,851,000 after acquiring an additional 23,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 812.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,182,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,295,000 after acquiring an additional 2,833,744 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.