5 Best Dividend Leaders to Buy According to Analysts

2. Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 27
Upside Potential as of April 4: 24.2%

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) is a regional banking company that offers services, including personal and business checking, savings accounts, loans, and mortgages. On February 2, the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, which was in line with its previous dividend. Overall, it has been making regular dividend payments to shareholders for the past 20 years. As of April 4, the stock has a dividend yield of 7.81%.

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) generated over $519 million in revenues in the fourth quarter of 2023, up 52.5% from the same period last year. As of December 31, the company had over $2.2 billion available in cash and cash equivalents, and its total assets for the period amounted to over $52.2 billion.

At the end of Q4 2023, 27 hedge funds in Insider Monkey’s database reported having stakes in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB), growing from 22 in the previous quarter. The consolidated value of these stakes is over $404 million. With over 3.4 million shares, Citadel Investment Group was the company’s leading stakeholder in Q4.