Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $26.00 to $29.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 28.15% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.62.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

COLB opened at $22.63 on Thursday. Columbia Banking System has a 1-year low of $18.11 and a 1-year high of $32.85. The stock has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.00.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. The business had revenue of $481.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $482.86 million. Research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of COLB. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the third quarter worth about $288,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 716,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,712,000 after purchasing an additional 97,498 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 82.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 391,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,592,000 after purchasing an additional 176,334 shares during the period. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,866,000. 92.53% of the stock is owned by 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.