Wells Fargo & Company Raises Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Price Target to $33.00

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) had its target price raised by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $30.00 to $33.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 6.66% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Columbia Banking System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 5th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.35.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

COLB stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $30.94. The stock had a trading volume of 41,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,210,602. Columbia Banking System has a 12-month low of $17.08 and a 12-month high of $32.85. The firm has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $28.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.24.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.13% and a net margin of 16.15%. The firm had revenue of $765.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $478.80 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1.6% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 2,330,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,346,000 after buying an additional 36,867 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 45.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 120,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,156,000 after acquiring an additional 37,941 shares in the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,181,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 37.8% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 97,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,947,000 after acquiring an additional 26,877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,458,000. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.