Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Given New $21.00 Price Target at Barclays

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) had its target price increased by Barclays from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Stephens lowered shares of Columbia Banking System from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and reduced their target price for the company from $31.00 to $24.00 in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Raymond James lowered shares of Columbia Banking System from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating and set a $25.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $22.19.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $19.12 on Friday. Columbia Banking System has a 1 year low of $17.08 and a 1 year high of $28.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.14.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.12. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 11.66%. The company had revenue of $473.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $480.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Columbia Banking System will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.53%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In related news, VP Christopher Merrywell bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.09 per share, with a total value of $105,450.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 50,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,832.43. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Christopher Merrywell bought 5,000 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $21.09 per share, with a total value of $105,450.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 50,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,832.43. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Clint Stein purchased 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $20.96 per share, with a total value of $199,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 165,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,472,736.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 35,133 shares of company stock worth $719,737 in the last ninety days. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,753,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $580,376,000 after purchasing an additional 123,120 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,788,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $207,809,000 after buying an additional 700,643 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 0.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,079,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $143,714,000 after buying an additional 26,010 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,578,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,158,000 after acquiring an additional 637,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,939,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,980,000 after acquiring an additional 967,009 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

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.