Columbia Banking upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo analyst Timur Braziler upgraded Columbia Banking (COLB) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $35, up from $33. The firm is more constructive given its desire to “own” the post Q1 2025 net interest income inflection, steeper curve, better early deposit betas, and regulatory relief. Wells cites the “underappreciated” deposit franchise at a historical discount, plus $8B of high-cost funding repricing through Q1 2025.