Columbia Banking System (COLB) Set to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) is set to issue its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.54 per share for the quarter. Parties interested in listening to the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.35). Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 12.71% and a return on equity of 10.27%. The firm had revenue of $519.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $525.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 52.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Columbia Banking System to post $2 EPS for the current fiscal year and $3 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of COLB opened at $19.08 on Wednesday. Columbia Banking System has a 52 week low of $17.08 and a 52 week high of $28.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.49 and a 200-day moving average of $21.18.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 87.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on COLB. StockNews.com cut Columbia Banking System from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Raymond James lowered Columbia Banking System from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Stephens lowered Columbia Banking System from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.42.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In other news, VP Christopher Merrywell bought 5,000 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.09 per share, for a total transaction of $105,450.00. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 50,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,832.43. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Aaron James Deer bought 2,000 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.32 per share, for a total transaction of $38,640.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 36,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,942. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher Merrywell bought 5,000 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.09 per share, with a total value of $105,450.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now owns 50,727 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,832.43. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 35,133 shares of company stock valued at $719,737. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

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.