Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Price Target Raised to $32.50

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) had its price target raised by DA Davidson from $30.00 to $32.50 in a report issued on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

COLB has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their price target on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $33.00 target price on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.27.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock opened at $28.88 on Friday. Columbia Banking System has a 1 year low of $19.61 and a 1 year high of $31.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.63. The company has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.60.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The firm had revenue of $715.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $693.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This is a boost from Columbia Banking System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 65.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in COLB. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 612.8% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 194.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting 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.