Citigroup Cuts Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Price Target to $31.00

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) had its price target lowered by Citigroup from $32.00 to $31.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Fundamental Research set a $35.00 target price on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Columbia Banking System from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.75.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $29.18 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $30.92 and its 200 day moving average is $29.98. The firm has a market cap of $8.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.62. Columbia Banking System has a one year low of $23.83 and a one year high of $33.67.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.03. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 19.96% and a return on equity of 11.33%. The business had revenue of $677.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.96%.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Columbia Banking System during the second quarter worth $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 571.7% in the first quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the first quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

About Columbia Banking System

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Tacoma, Washington. Through its principal subsidiary, Columbia Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses, professionals and public-sector organizations.

Its products and services include consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, business loans, lines of credit, treasury management, wealth management, mortgage services and digital banking.