Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.12, Briefing.com reports. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.66% and a net margin of 16.52%. The firm had revenue of $473.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $480.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock opened at $19.12 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $18.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.14. Columbia Banking System has a 12 month low of $17.08 and a 12 month high of $28.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 0.71.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.53%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton purchased 2,685 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.48 per share, for a total transaction of $49,618.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,001 shares in the company, valued at $462,018.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Columbia Banking System news, Director John F. Schultz acquired 8,559 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.39 per share, for a total transaction of $174,518.01. Following the transaction, the director now owns 41,870 shares in the company, valued at $853,729.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton acquired 2,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.48 per share, for a total transaction of $49,618.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,018.48. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 35,133 shares of company stock worth $719,737 in the last ninety days. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on COLB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays upped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Columbia Banking System from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.19.

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.