Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Stock Price

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) had its price objective cut by equities research analysts at Barclays from $30.00 to $29.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 4.34% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group initiated coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens raised their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Columbia Banking System from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.58.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of COLB stock traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $27.80. The company had a trading volume of 791,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,908,081. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.89 and a 200 day moving average of $27.90. The firm has a market cap of $8.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.61. Columbia Banking System has a 1-year low of $19.96 and a 1-year high of $32.70.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $715.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $693.23 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 17.11%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,241 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total value of $63,308.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 100,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,838,249.25. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total value of $403,926.75. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 19,354 shares of company stock valued at $561,971 in the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 37.9% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 47,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,329,000 after acquiring an additional 13,053 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 356.4% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 60,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after acquiring an additional 47,570 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at about $217,000. Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at about $220,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings 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 valued at $116,559,000 after acquiring an additional 330,573 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

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.