Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Stock

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) had its price target raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $30.00 to $33.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 5th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.35.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

COLB stock opened at $30.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.23 and a beta of 0.64. Columbia Banking System has a 12 month low of $17.08 and a 12 month high of $32.85. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.31.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $765.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $478.80 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 10.13%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.71%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 144.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 111.5% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 1,380 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 137,166.7% during the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 4,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,548 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.