Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Price Target Raised to $30.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) had its price objective raised by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $28.00 to $30.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 10.86% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on COLB. Stephens upped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings cut Columbia Banking System from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.19.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of COLB stock traded up $0.36 on Monday, hitting $27.06. The stock had a trading volume of 535,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,913,529. Columbia Banking System has a one year low of $19.61 and a one year high of $32.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.83. The company has a market cap of $8.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.60.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The business had revenue of $715.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $693.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,240 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total value of $64,624.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 98,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,833,906.65. This trade represents a 2.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total value of $403,926.75. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 19,354 shares of company stock valued at $561,971 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $768,375,000 after purchasing an additional 8,730,937 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,106,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $506,069,000 after buying an additional 4,324,006 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 32.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,407,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $345,113,000 after buying an additional 3,290,560 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 68.1% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,116,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $337,611,000 after acquiring an additional 5,313,883 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,564,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $351,179,000 after acquiring an additional 163,543 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its principal subsidiary, Columbia State Bank. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the company provides a full range of banking and financial services to commercial, small business and consumer customers. Its branch network is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where it aims to combine local decision-making with the resources of a larger institution.

The company’s offerings include commercial real estate lending, construction and development financing, equipment and small business loans, and deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts.