Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Lifted to “Outperform” at Wedbush

Wedbush upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $31.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $28.00. Wedbush also issued estimates for Columbia Banking System’s Q1 2026 earnings at $0.67 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.68 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.75 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com lowered Columbia Banking System from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an overweight rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $25.50.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of COLB opened at $25.96 on Tuesday. Columbia Banking System has a one year low of $17.08 and a one year high of $28.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.11.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $472.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $476.01 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 15.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Columbia Banking System will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 61.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 85.1% during the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 144.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 111.5% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 137,166.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 4,115 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.