StockNews.com Lowers Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) to Sell

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.04.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of COLB opened at $19.89 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $19.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.48. The company has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.54 and a beta of 0.67. Columbia Banking System has a fifty-two week low of $17.08 and a fifty-two week high of $28.11.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.12. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 16.52%. The firm had revenue of $473.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $480.39 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. Columbia Banking System’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,327,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $432,041,000 after acquiring an additional 574,509 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,788,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $207,809,000 after purchasing an additional 700,643 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,578,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,158,000 after purchasing an additional 637,212 shares during the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 21.4% in the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,468,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,468,000 after purchasing an additional 788,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 32.5% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,939,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,980,000 after purchasing an additional 967,009 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.