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

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Wedbush in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $20.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Wedbush’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 4.60% from the stock’s current price. Wedbush also issued estimates for Columbia Banking System’s Q3 2024 earnings at $0.58 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $2.65 EPS.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.19.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $19.12 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.15. Columbia Banking System has a 1-year low of $17.08 and a 1-year high of $28.11. The stock has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 0.71.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.12. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 11.66%. The business had revenue of $473.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $480.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Columbia Banking System will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Columbia Banking System news, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton bought 2,685 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.48 per share, for a total transaction of $49,618.80. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 25,001 shares in the company, valued at $462,018.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton acquired 2,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.48 per share, with a total value of $49,618.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,018.48. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Aaron James Deer acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.32 per share, for a total transaction of $38,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,942. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 35,133 shares of company stock worth $719,737 in the last ninety days. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of COLB. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1,506.8% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 113.4% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Columbia Banking System

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.