Two Sigma Securities LLC Takes Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 22,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $713,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the second quarter worth $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 571.7% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 194.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 168.8% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COLB has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Columbia Banking System from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.62.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

COLB stock opened at $29.32 on Wednesday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.83 and a 52 week high of $33.67. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.99. The company has a market capitalization of $8.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.62.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.03. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 19.96% and a return on equity of 11.33%. The company had revenue of $677.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Columbia Banking System news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total transaction of $115,269.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 18,636 shares in the company, valued at $554,793.72. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Columbia Banking System Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its principal subsidiary, Columbia State Bank. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the company provides a full range of banking and financial services to commercial, small business and consumer customers. Its branch network is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where it aims to combine local decision-making with the resources of a larger institution.

The company’s offerings include commercial real estate lending, construction and development financing, equipment and small business loans, and deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts.