Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Receives $31.25 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.25.

COLB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens cut 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup dropped their price target on 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 0.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 91,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,476,000 after buying an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $844,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

COLB opened at $25.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.49. Columbia Banking System has a 52-week low of $17.08 and a 52-week high of $32.85.

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

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.63%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.69%.

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.