Columbia Banking price target raised to $32 from $31 at JPMorgan

JPMorgan analyst Anthony Elian raised the firm’s price target on Columbia Banking (COLB) to $32 from $31 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares as part of a 2025 outlook for the mid- and small-cap banks. The firm remains “very encouraged” on the direction of regional banks heading into 2025. Optimism for the group is not only driven by the likelihood of improving fundamentals next year in areas such as loan growth, deposit growth, and net interest margin expansion, but also tied to the fact that “dozens of generalists and long only investors that we have spoken to since the election are showing increasing interest in the group but have not yet pulled the buy trigger en masse,” the analyst tells investors in a research note.