Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 17.11%.The company had revenue of $675.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $677.34 million.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

COLB traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $29.65. The stock had a trading volume of 3,065,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,894,317. The company has a market cap of $8.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $28.52 and a 200 day moving average of $28.14. Columbia Banking System has a 1 year low of $21.91 and a 1 year high of $32.70.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.58.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total value of $64,624.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 98,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,833,906.65. This represents a 2.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total value of $403,926.75. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,354 shares of company stock valued at $561,971. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in COLB. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 135.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,782,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,754,000 after purchasing an additional 7,921,303 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 140.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,666,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,237,000 after purchasing an additional 5,063,212 shares during the period. North Reef Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3,600.0% during the fourth quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 3,700,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,415,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600,000 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 32.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,407,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $345,113,000 after purchasing an additional 3,290,560 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 8,133.3% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,063,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,857,000 after purchasing an additional 3,026,390 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its principal subsidiary, Columbia State Bank. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the company provides a full range of banking and financial services to commercial, small business and consumer customers. Its branch network is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where it aims to combine local decision-making with the resources of a larger institution.

The company’s offerings include commercial real estate lending, construction and development financing, equipment and small business loans, and deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts.