Barclays Increases Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Price Target to $21.00

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

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Wedbush reissued a neutral rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Friday. Raymond James lowered Columbia Banking System from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating and set a $25.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $22.19.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB opened at $18.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.14 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.52 and a 200 day moving average of $21.15. Columbia Banking System has a 52 week low of $17.08 and a 52 week high of $28.11.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.12. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 16.52%. The firm had revenue of $473.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $480.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Columbia Banking System will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 61.80%.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In other Columbia Banking System news, Director Luis Machuca bought 4,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.58 per share, for a total transaction of $100,615.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 60,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,251,984.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton acquired 2,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.48 per share, for a total transaction of $49,618.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,018.48. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Luis Machuca bought 4,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.58 per share, with a total value of $100,615.62. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 60,835 shares in the company, valued at $1,251,984.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 9,574 shares of company stock worth $188,874 over the last 90 days. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 91,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,853,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 27.2% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3.8% in the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 19,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 34,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $925,000 after buying an additional 781 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.