Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.12 EPS

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.12, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $473.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $480.39 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 11.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB opened at $19.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $18.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.15. Columbia Banking System has a 12-month low of $17.08 and a 12-month high of $28.11.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders 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 yield of 7.53%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 61.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on COLB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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 note on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $36.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.19.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In related news, VP Christopher Merrywell purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $21.09 per share, with a total value of $105,450.00. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 50,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,832.43. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Columbia Banking System news, CFO Ron L. Farnsworth purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.71 per share, with a total value of $51,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 160,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,315,111.83. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher Merrywell acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $21.09 per share, with a total value of $105,450.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president now owns 50,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,832.43. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 35,133 shares of company stock worth $719,737. Company insiders own 0.62% 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.