Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $29.06 and last traded at $28.98, with a volume of 5146 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.64.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Columbia Banking System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.12.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $25.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 0.64.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 15.94% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The company had revenue of $765.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $478.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.96%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 62.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 85.1% during the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 144.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 111.5% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 137,166.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 4,115 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.