Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Stock: Leeward Investments LLC MA Trims Position

Leeward Investments LLC MA lessened its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 808,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 53,077 shares during the period. Columbia Banking System makes up 1.2% of Leeward Investments LLC MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $23,119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 45,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,468,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 71,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,949,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 7,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the period. Henshaw Capital LLC raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Henshaw Capital LLC now owns 34,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $955,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the period. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 5.5% in the third quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COLB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Fundamental Research set a $35.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Columbia Banking System from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.38.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $30.85 on Monday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.12 and a 52 week high of $33.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.66.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 22.83%. The business had revenue of $702.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.21%.

Columbia Banking System News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Columbia Banking System this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings and revenue exceeded expectations. Columbia reported adjusted earnings of $0.82 per share versus the $0.77 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $702 million, above the $687.7 million forecast. Revenue increased 19.4% year over year. Columbia Banking Q3 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability improved materially. Net income rose to $220 million, or $0.78 per diluted share, from $96 million a year earlier. Net interest income increased $26 million sequentially to $615 million, and net interest margin expanded 18 basis points to 4.11%. Deposits also grew to $52.74 billion from $52.06 billion in the prior quarter. Columbia Banking Q3 net income report
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns are a major catalyst. The bank repurchased $199 million of common stock during the quarter, completed its previous authorization and approved a new buyback of up to $1.2 billion with no expiration date. Columbia also maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.37 per share. Columbia Banking System third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: RBC raised its price target to $34 from $32. Although the firm retained a “sector perform” rating, the higher target implies additional upside from the current trading level. Royal Bank of Canada analyst recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: Columbia reported third-quarter net charge-offs, but the available announcement does not provide enough detail to determine whether credit quality improved or deteriorated. Columbia Banking net charge-offs report
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted earnings of $0.82 per share declined from $0.85 in the year-earlier quarter, meaning the results were strong relative to estimates but not across every year-over-year earnings measure.

About Columbia Banking System

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Tacoma, Washington. It operates through Umpqua Bank, a full-service financial institution serving consumers, businesses, professionals and institutions.

Umpqua Bank provides deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, business banking, treasury and cash-management services, mortgage banking, personal banking and wealth-management solutions. Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, commercial real estate and business loans, consumer credit, online and mobile banking, and investment and advisory services.

Columbia Banking System traces its roots to the formation of Columbia State Bank in Washington in 1993.