Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Price Target to $26.00

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $35.00 to $26.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective indicates a potential upside of 21.38% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on COLB. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays lowered their target price on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.00.

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Columbia Banking System Stock Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ:COLB traded up $0.58 on Wednesday, reaching $21.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,932,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,786,386. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $25.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.25. Columbia Banking System has a 12-month low of $17.08 and a 12-month high of $32.85. The firm has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.43 and a beta of 0.53.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. Equities research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 $2,725,545.31. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth $65,249,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 158.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,851,217 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134,544 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth approximately $22,476,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,514,816 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $148,956,000 after acquiring an additional 512,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,109,817 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,986,000 after acquiring an additional 428,776 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.