Brokerages Set Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) PT at $29.00

Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.31.

Several research analysts have issued reports on COLB shares. UBS Group started coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in COLB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,109,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $185,623,000 after purchasing an additional 178,327 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 31.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,659,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $173,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611,563 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 6.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,191,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,153,000 after acquiring an additional 386,751 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 812.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,182,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,295,000 after acquiring an additional 2,833,744 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 2,330,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,346,000 after purchasing an additional 36,867 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of COLB stock opened at $26.25 on Friday. Columbia Banking System has a 52 week low of $17.08 and a 52 week high of $32.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.23 and a 200-day moving average of $26.14. The company has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 0.67.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $765.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $478.80 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 10.13%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.49%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.34%.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

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.