JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Price Target to $30.00

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) had its target price lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

COLB has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a report on Monday. Wedbush boosted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised their price target on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 research note on Friday, October 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.31.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $27.20 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $29.34 and its 200 day moving average is $26.02. The firm has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 0.67. Columbia Banking System has a 52-week low of $17.08 and a 52-week high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $478.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Columbia Banking System will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.29%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,109,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,623,000 after purchasing an additional 178,327 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 31.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,659,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $173,873,000 after buying an additional 1,611,563 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,191,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,153,000 after acquiring an additional 386,751 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 812.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,182,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,295,000 after acquiring an additional 2,833,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 36,867 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is currently 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.