Columbia Banking price target lowered to $29 from $36 at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler analyst Matthew Clark lowered the firm’s price target on Columbia Banking to $29 from $36 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm notes Columbia Banking posted operating EPS of 57c that was below consensus of 79c and its 82c estimate due to weaker net interest income, higher core NIE, lighter fees, and a higher LLP. Piper expects the shares to underperform the group on the much weaker PPNR and related outlook.