Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Rating Increased to Overweight at 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 research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $35.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $33.00.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on COLB. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group started coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.15.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of COLB opened at $27.41 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 0.67. Columbia Banking System has a 52 week low of $17.08 and a 52 week high of $32.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $29.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.96.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $765.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $478.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 2,330,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,346,000 after acquiring an additional 36,867 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 45.7% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 120,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,156,000 after acquiring an additional 37,941 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 439.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 79,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,086,000 after acquiring an additional 65,072 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 219.3% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 212,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,559,000 after purchasing an additional 146,219 shares in the last quarter. 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.