Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on COLB. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. DA Davidson set a $25.00 price objective on Columbia Banking System and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James set a $27.00 target price on Columbia Banking System and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.85.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock opened at $23.40 on Tuesday. Columbia Banking System has a 1-year low of $18.11 and a 1-year high of $32.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.47 and a 200-day moving average of $26.78. The company has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.21 and a beta of 0.59.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $481.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $482.86 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. Columbia Banking System’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,725,545.31. This trade represents a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,128,000 after buying an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 60,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 50,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 58,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,464,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 2.2% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 24,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.