Q3 2024 EPS Estimates for Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Cut by Analyst

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) – Investment analysts at Wedbush lowered their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for Columbia Banking System in a research note issued on Friday, April 26th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $0.58 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.60. Wedbush has a “Neutral” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Columbia Banking System’s current full-year earnings is $2.25 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Columbia Banking System’s FY2025 earnings at $2.65 EPS.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $473.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $480.39 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.66% and a net margin of 16.52%. Columbia Banking System’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.46 EPS.

COLB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Stephens lowered shares of Columbia Banking System from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $31.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.19.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $19.12 on Monday. Columbia Banking System has a fifty-two week low of $17.08 and a fifty-two week high of $28.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $18.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.16.

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 issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher Merrywell purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were bought 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 directly owns 50,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,832.43. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton acquired 2,685 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.48 per share, with a total value of $49,618.80. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 25,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,018.48. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher Merrywell bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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. Insiders purchased a total of 24,074 shares of company stock valued at $493,444 in the last 90 days. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1,506.8% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,326 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 113.4% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is 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.