Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Stock Price

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) had its price objective upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $30.00 to $34.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on COLB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays raised their price target on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised Columbia Banking System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.88.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 1.1 %

COLB opened at $30.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.08 and a beta of 0.64. Columbia Banking System has a 52 week low of $17.08 and a 52 week high of $32.85. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.38.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $765.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $478.80 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Columbia Banking System will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.77%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 144.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased 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 worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 137,166.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 4,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 44.1% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,548 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.