Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Price Target Raised to $33.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) had its price target hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $31.00 to $33.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen started coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Columbia Banking System from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $30.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.33.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of COLB opened at $28.91 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 0.62. Columbia Banking System has a 12 month low of $19.61 and a 12 month high of $29.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $26.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.62.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $348.47 million for the quarter. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 15.98%. Equities research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. This is an increase from Columbia Banking System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 41.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,851,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $768,375,000 after buying an additional 8,730,937 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 135.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,782,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,754,000 after acquiring an additional 7,921,303 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 68.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,116,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $337,611,000 after acquiring an additional 5,313,883 shares during the last quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the second quarter valued at about $104,819,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 145.3% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,019,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,671,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157,835 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.