Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $28.13 and last traded at $27.97, with a volume of 622845 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COLB has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.81.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $25.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $476.01 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.19%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of COLB. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 636,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,993,000 after buying an additional 40,126 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,578,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,158,000 after purchasing an additional 637,212 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,753,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $580,376,000 after purchasing an additional 123,120 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 44.4% during the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 34,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $666,000 after purchasing an additional 10,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 20.9% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 1,263 shares during the period. 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.