Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Lowered to Equal Weight Rating by Wells Fargo & Company

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $27.00 target price on the financial services provider's stock, down from their previous target price of $29.00. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.09% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.50 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.79.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of COLB traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $24.75. 3,584,954 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,819,984. The business's 50-day moving average price is $23.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 0.62. Columbia Banking System has a 12 month low of $19.61 and a 12 month high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $481.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $482.86 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.12% and a net margin of 16.85%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 0.9% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,742,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $317,802,000 after buying an additional 116,795 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,667,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $191,222,000 after purchasing an additional 351,375 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,602,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $205,345,000 after purchasing an additional 61,242 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,527,612 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $162,791,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012,796 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 221.3% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,947,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $148,342,000 after purchasing an additional 4,096,733 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company's stock.

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.