Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Now Covered by Analysts at UBS Group

Equities research analysts at UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 19.40% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on COLB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.00.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 6.4 %

NASDAQ COLB opened at $26.80 on Tuesday. Columbia Banking System has a 1-year low of $17.08 and a 1-year high of $32.85. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.14. The company has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 0.64.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $765.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $478.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Columbia Banking System will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position 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 worth $46,346,000 after acquiring an additional 36,867 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 37,941 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 439.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 79,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,086,000 after purchasing an additional 65,072 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the third quarter valued at about $3,181,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 219.3% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 212,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,559,000 after buying an additional 146,219 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is currently 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.