Analysts Set Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Price Target at $32.04

Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.0385.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COLB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $34.50 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,241 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $63,308.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 100,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,838,249.25. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total transaction of $403,926.75. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,206 shares of company stock valued at $531,859. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 47,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 13,053 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 356.4% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 60,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 47,570 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,000. Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter worth approximately $220,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,170,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $116,559,000 after buying an additional 330,573 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $26.42 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.82. The stock has a market cap of $7.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.60. Columbia Banking System has a twelve month low of $19.61 and a twelve month high of $32.70.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The business had revenue of $715.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $693.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.49%.

About Columbia Banking System

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its principal subsidiary, Columbia State Bank. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the company provides a full range of banking and financial services to commercial, small business and consumer customers. Its branch network is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where it aims to combine local decision-making with the resources of a larger institution.

The company’s offerings include commercial real estate lending, construction and development financing, equipment and small business loans, and deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts.