Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Price Target Lowered to $27.00 at Barclays

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) had its target price lowered by Barclays from $33.00 to $27.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on COLB. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stephens cut their target price on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.00.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $20.71 on Tuesday. Columbia Banking System has a 1 year low of $17.08 and a 1 year high of $32.85. The stock has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.27.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.95%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,725,545.31. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 276,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,898,000 after buying an additional 2,224 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System in the first quarter worth $251,000. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the first quarter valued at $275,000. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 33,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $838,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 108,800.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 8,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 8,704 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

About Columbia Banking System

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.