Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.12.

Several research analysts recently commented on COLB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

COLB stock opened at $30.88 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $27.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.41. Columbia Banking System has a one year low of $17.08 and a one year high of $31.86. The company has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 0.62.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $478.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System will post 2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 812.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,182,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,295,000 after buying an additional 2,833,744 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,659,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $173,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611,563 shares in the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the third quarter valued at about $26,593,000. Holocene Advisors LP grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1,001.8% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 962,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,126,000 after purchasing an additional 874,986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in 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 during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.