Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Given New $32.50 Price Target at DA Davidson

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) had its target price hoisted by DA Davidson from $30.00 to $32.50 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. DA Davidson currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.27.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB opened at $28.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.60. Columbia Banking System has a 12 month low of $19.61 and a 12 month high of $31.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $28.38 and its 200 day moving average is $26.61.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 17.11%.The firm had revenue of $715.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $693.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This is a positive change from Columbia Banking System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.0% during the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 20,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 4.5% during the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 9,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 122,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,422,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the period. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 9,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 37,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $966,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Columbia Banking System

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on both EPS and revenue — COLB reported $0.82 EPS vs. $0.72 consensus and $715M revenue, driven by revenue growth and lower provisions. This supports earnings momentum. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Acquisition tailwinds — the Pacific Premier deal contributed its first full quarter, boosting revenue and offering expected cost?savings/synergy opportunities highlighted in coverage. COLB Q4 deep dive
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifted targets and forecasts after the results — DA Davidson bumped its PT to $32.50 (neutral) and RBC raised its PT to $32 (sector perform), signaling modest upside from current levels. DA Davidson PT raise RBC PT raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor resources published (earnings call transcript, slide deck) allowing deeper review of metrics like ROE (11.13%) and net margin (15.98%) for modeling and due diligence. Earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Rising operating expenses and integration costs were highlighted in coverage; higher expenses may pressure near?term margins despite revenue gains. This appears to be weighing on sentiment. Zacks: expenses rose
• Negative Sentiment: High trading volume on the decline suggests profit?taking after the beat; coupled with mostly neutral/sector?perform analyst stances, upside may be capped near-term. (Market volume data referenced in trading summary.) MarketBeat earnings summary

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.