Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Given New $27.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) had its price target trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from $32.00 to $27.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on COLB. Barclays dropped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.23.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $23.32 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.02. The firm has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.18 and a beta of 0.53. Columbia Banking System has a fifty-two week low of $18.11 and a fifty-two week high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $481.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $482.86 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.69%.

Insider Activity

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total transaction of $116,461.19. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. This trade represents a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 3rd quarter worth $288,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.1% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 15.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 716,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,712,000 after acquiring an additional 97,498 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 82.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 391,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,592,000 after purchasing an additional 176,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,866,000. 92.53% of the stock is 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.