Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Given New $29.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $26.00 to $29.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays cut their target price on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens decreased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.62.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $22.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.01. Columbia Banking System has a 1 year low of $18.11 and a 1 year high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. The company had revenue of $481.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $482.86 million. As a group, analysts expect that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 122,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,303,000 after acquiring an additional 4,408 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $844,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the third quarter worth about $288,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,774,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,928,000 after buying an additional 42,527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 82.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 391,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,592,000 after buying an additional 176,334 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% 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.