Brokerages Set Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) PT at $30.00

Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.00.

A number of brokerages recently commented on COLB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total transaction of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 104,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 141.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $22.18. 992,306 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,776,406. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.09. The company has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.73 and a beta of 0.53. Columbia Banking System has a 1 year low of $17.61 and a 1 year high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. As a group, research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.49%. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is presently 56.69%.

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.