UBS Group Reiterates “Neutral” Rating for Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB)

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by research analysts at UBS Group in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $30.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their previous price target of $33.00. UBS Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 7.77% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on COLB. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Stephens increased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.65.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $27.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.07 billion, a PE ratio of 12.32 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average of $28.89 and a 200 day moving average of $27.90. Columbia Banking System has a 1-year low of $19.61 and a 1-year high of $32.70.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $715.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $693.23 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 11.40%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,241 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $63,308.25. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 100,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,838,249.25. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total value of $403,926.75. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 19,354 shares of company stock worth $561,971 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 664,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,094,000 after purchasing an additional 187,551 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 145.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,019,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,671,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157,835 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,536,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $193,977,000 after purchasing an additional 929,862 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 45.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 278,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,179,000 after purchasing an additional 87,627 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,495,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $192,941,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497,177 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its principal subsidiary, Columbia State Bank. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the company provides a full range of banking and financial services to commercial, small business and consumer customers. Its branch network is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where it aims to combine local decision-making with the resources of a larger institution.

The company’s offerings include commercial real estate lending, construction and development financing, equipment and small business loans, and deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts.