Wedbush Raises Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Price Target to $25.00

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) had its price objective upped by Wedbush from $20.00 to $25.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wedbush also issued estimates for Columbia Banking System’s Q3 2024 earnings at $0.57 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $2.50 EPS.

COLB has been the subject of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler restated an overweight rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $23.81.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

COLB stock opened at $26.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $20.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.80. Columbia Banking System has a 52-week low of $17.08 and a 52-week high of $28.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.66.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 15.94%. The business had revenue of $472.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $476.01 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.34%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COLB. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 113.4% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 85.1% in the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 111.5% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

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.