Brokerages Set Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) PT at $31.25

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.25.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Remove Ads

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COLB traded down $0.10 on Friday, reaching $25.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 901,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,759,207. Columbia Banking System has a 1-year low of $17.08 and a 1-year high of $32.85. The business's 50-day moving average price is $26.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.48. The firm has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.62.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.63%. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 104,869 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 62.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 780 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.