Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $35.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $33.00.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Columbia Banking System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.15.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB opened at $27.41 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.96. The company has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 0.67. Columbia Banking System has a one year low of $17.08 and a one year high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.13% and a net margin of 16.15%. The company had revenue of $765.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $478.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.25%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.34%.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 111.5% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 1,380 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 54.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1,507.6% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 4,553 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 26.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 14.0% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

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.