Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Receives $31.25 Average PT from Brokerages

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.25.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 104,869 shares in the company, 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 hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,307,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter valued at about $519,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 4,089.7% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 405,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,940,000 after purchasing an additional 395,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth about $208,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of COLB opened at $24.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.47. Columbia Banking System has a 1-year low of $17.08 and a 1-year high of $32.85.

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, 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 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.