OZK - Columbia Banking System: Nearing The Turning Point

2024-06-04 09:00:49 ET

Summary

• Columbia Banking System shares have declined by 22.8% since January, underperforming the S&P 500.
• Despite the decline, the company's financial results for the most recent quarter show positive growth in net interest income and deposits.
• The bank's valuation metrics, such as price to earnings and price to book multiples, suggest it is trading at a relatively cheap level compared to its competitors.
• But COLB stock is not yet attractive enough to warrant an upgrade.

Columbia Banking System overview

One of the most difficult things about investing is identifying a turning point. Most investments, perhaps every investment, eventually hits a point where instead of going in one direction, shares deserve to go in another. For instance, back in January of this year, I wrote an article that took a rather neutral stance on Columbia Banking System, Inc. ( COLB ). Even though the company had grown rather significantly, largely because of a merger completed in 2023, shares were looking rather pricey....

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