Analysts Set Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Target Price at $30.38

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $30.38.

COLB has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Stephens decreased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup cut 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.3 %

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $26.53 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 0.66. Columbia Banking System has a 1 year low of $17.08 and a 1 year high of $32.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.51 and a 200-day moving average of $27.36.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. Research analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 56.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 4,089.7% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 405,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,940,000 after acquiring an additional 395,355 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter valued at about $208,000. GTS Securities LLC purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter valued at about $301,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 118,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,193,000 after acquiring an additional 12,909 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 13,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 1,436 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.