Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Short Interest Up 90.8% in March

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,380,000 shares, a growth of 90.8% from the February 29th total of 2,820,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,900,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In other news, CEO Clint Stein acquired 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.96 per share, with a total value of $199,120.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 165,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,472,736.64. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Clint Stein acquired 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.96 per share, with a total value of $199,120.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 165,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,472,736.64. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton acquired 2,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.48 per share, for a total transaction of $49,618.80. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 25,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,018.48. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 35,133 shares of company stock valued at $719,737. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COLB. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 1,506.8% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 152.2% in the 1st quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares during the period. Finally, First Pacific Financial acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COLB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James lowered Columbia Banking System from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Columbia Banking System from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Columbia Banking System from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $30.00 to $25.00 in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.04.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of COLB traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $19.35. 2,832,372 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,088,060. The company has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $19.48 and its 200-day moving average is $21.37. Columbia Banking System has a 52 week low of $17.18 and a 52 week high of $28.11.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.35). The business had revenue of $519.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $525.94 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 12.71%. Columbia Banking System’s revenue for the quarter was up 52.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.44%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is presently 87.27%.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

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.