UBS Group Begins Coverage on Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB)

UBS Group started coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, The Fly reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $23.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

COLB has been the subject of several other research reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. They issued a hold rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. They set an overweight rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $37.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Friday, March 10th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $32.43.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ COLB opened at $21.72 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.44. Columbia Banking System has a 1 year low of $20.25 and a 1 year high of $35.53.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $203.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.70 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 33.55% and a return on equity of 11.87%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 6th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 3rd. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of COLB. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the first quarter valued at $484,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 26.7% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.7% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 23,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $790,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 56.3% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 42,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,364,000 after acquiring an additional 15,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3.4% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 232,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,516,000 after acquiring an additional 7,638 shares in the last quarter.

About Columbia Banking System

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Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services. It offers its services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, and individuals. It operates through the Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California geographical segments. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Tacoma, WA.