Columbia Banking System's (COLB) "Neutral" Rating Reaffirmed at Wedbush

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating restated by equities research analysts at Wedbush in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $20.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock. Wedbush's price target suggests a potential upside of 4.60% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Raymond James lowered Columbia Banking System from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $25.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. TheStreet lowered Columbia Banking System from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com cut Columbia Banking System from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.19.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

NASDAQ COLB traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $19.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,715,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,876,295. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $18.51 and a 200 day moving average of $21.14. Columbia Banking System has a one year low of $17.08 and a one year high of $28.11.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $473.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $480.39 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 12.71%. The company's revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton acquired 2,685 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.48 per share, with a total value of $49,618.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 25,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $462,018.48. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton acquired 2,685 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.48 per share, with a total value of $49,618.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 25,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $462,018.48. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Luis Machuca bought 4,889 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.58 per share, for a total transaction of $100,615.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 60,835 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,251,984.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 35,133 shares of company stock valued at $719,737. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1,506.8% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,326 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 113.4% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,970 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 27.2% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,489 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.