Columbia Banking System (COLB) Scheduled to Post Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) is scheduled to be issuing 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 that wish to listen to the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its 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 return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 12.71%. The firm had revenue of $519.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $525.94 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. The company’s quarterly 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 Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $17.49 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $18.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.19. Columbia Banking System has a 52 week low of $17.08 and a 52 week high of $28.11. The company has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 0.71.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 87.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on COLB shares. DA Davidson cut their price target on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Columbia Banking System from $36.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays started coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens downgraded Columbia Banking System from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $24.00 in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In other news, CFO Ron L. Farnsworth purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.71 per share, for a total transaction of $51,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 160,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,315,111.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Ron L. Farnsworth purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.71 per share, for a total transaction of $51,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 160,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,315,111.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Clint Stein purchased 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.96 per share, for a total transaction of $199,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 165,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,472,736.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 35,133 shares of company stock valued at $719,737 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 37,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 16,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.7% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 15,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 152.2% in the 1st quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.