Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Price Target to $33.00

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) had its price objective reduced by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $34.00 to $33.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the financial services provider's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on COLB. Wedbush boosted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Columbia Banking System from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.23.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

COLB traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.97. 1,383,638 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,446,176. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.67. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $28.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.64. Columbia Banking System has a one year low of $17.08 and a one year high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 10.13%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.34%.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in COLB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,109,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $185,623,000 after purchasing an additional 178,327 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 31.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,659,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $173,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,611,563 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 812.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,182,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,295,000 after purchasing an additional 2,833,744 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,263,432 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,099,000 after purchasing an additional 562,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,614,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,166,000 after purchasing an additional 53,847 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company's stock.

About Columbia Banking System

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.