Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Stock Price

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) had its target price decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $35.00 to $26.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on COLB. Stephens dropped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.00.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

COLB opened at $20.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.20 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.24. Columbia Banking System has a one year low of $17.08 and a one year high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.91%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total transaction of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,725,545.31. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 62.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

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.