Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Price Target to $21.00

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) had its price objective cut by Royal Bank of Canada from $25.00 to $21.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the financial services provider's stock.

COLB has been the topic of several other reports. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Columbia Banking System from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Stephens lowered shares of Columbia Banking System from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $22.50.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

NASDAQ COLB traded up $0.25 on Tuesday, hitting $19.10. 1,450,361 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,971,273. The business's fifty day moving average is $18.74 and its 200 day moving average is $21.29. Columbia Banking System has a 52 week low of $17.18 and a 52 week high of $28.11. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.71.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.35). Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 12.71%. The firm had revenue of $519.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $525.94 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 52.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Columbia Banking System will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.54%. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is 87.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Aaron James Deer purchased 2,000 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.32 per share, for a total transaction of $38,640.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 36,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,942. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton purchased 2,685 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.48 per share, for a total transaction of $49,618.80. Following the purchase, the director now owns 25,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,018.48. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Aaron James Deer purchased 2,000 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.32 per share, for a total transaction of $38,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 36,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,942. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 35,133 shares of company stock worth $719,737 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COLB. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 405,480 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,231,000 after buying an additional 40,215 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1,633.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 1,277,639 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,936,000 after buying an additional 1,203,933 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,939,877 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $79,980,000 after buying an additional 967,009 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 20,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $535,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 146,066 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,910,000 after buying an additional 25,771 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.