Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Stock Has Average Target Price of $33.23 According to Brokerages

Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $33.38.

COLB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Columbia Banking System from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Citigroup lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th.

Key Columbia Banking System News

Here are the key news stories impacting Columbia Banking System this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings and revenue exceeded expectations. Columbia reported adjusted earnings of $0.82 per share versus the $0.77 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $702 million, above the $687.7 million forecast. Revenue increased 19.4% year over year. Columbia Banking Q3 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability improved materially. Net income rose to $220 million, or $0.78 per diluted share, from $96 million a year earlier. Net interest income increased $26 million sequentially to $615 million, and net interest margin expanded 18 basis points to 4.11%. Deposits also grew to $52.74 billion from $52.06 billion in the prior quarter. Columbia Banking Q3 net income report
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns are a major catalyst. The bank repurchased $199 million of common stock during the quarter, completed its previous authorization and approved a new buyback of up to $1.2 billion with no expiration date. Columbia also maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.37 per share. Columbia Banking System third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: RBC raised its price target to $34 from $32. Although the firm retained a “sector perform” rating, the higher target implies additional upside from the current trading level. Royal Bank of Canada analyst recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: Columbia reported third-quarter net charge-offs, but the available announcement does not provide enough detail to determine whether credit quality improved or deteriorated. Columbia Banking net charge-offs report
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted earnings of $0.82 per share declined from $0.85 in the year-earlier quarter, meaning the results were strong relative to estimates but not across every year-over-year earnings measure.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the second quarter worth about $2,746,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,104,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the second quarter valued at approximately $68,906,000. Amundi increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 52.7% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 102,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,285,000 after buying an additional 35,365 shares during the period. Finally, Lone Peak Global Investors LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Peak Global Investors LLC now owns 569,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,242,000 after buying an additional 31,925 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $30.85 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.24. Columbia Banking System has a fifty-two week low of $25.12 and a fifty-two week high of $33.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.66.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 11.69%. The firm had revenue of $702.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. Columbia Banking System’s revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 28th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 58.96%.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Tacoma, Washington. It operates through Umpqua Bank, a full-service financial institution serving consumers, businesses, professionals and institutions.

Umpqua Bank provides deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, business banking, treasury and cash-management services, mortgage banking, personal banking and wealth-management solutions. Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, commercial real estate and business loans, consumer credit, online and mobile banking, and investment and advisory services.

Columbia Banking System traces its roots to the formation of Columbia State Bank in Washington in 1993.