Raymond James Boosts Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Price Target to $28.00

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) had its price objective increased by Raymond James from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on COLB. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Piper Sandler restated an overweight rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays increased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $25.88.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of COLB stock opened at $25.67 on Wednesday. Columbia Banking System has a 52-week low of $17.08 and a 52-week high of $28.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $24.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 0.64.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 15.94%. The business had revenue of $472.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $476.01 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Columbia Banking System will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.61%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 812.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,182,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,295,000 after purchasing an additional 2,833,744 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3,245.7% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 864,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,068,000 after purchasing an additional 838,762 shares during the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,468,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,468,000 after purchasing an additional 788,383 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,578,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,158,000 after buying an additional 637,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,327,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $432,041,000 after buying an additional 574,509 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.