Short Interest in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Drops By 52.7%

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 6,580,000 shares, a drop of 52.7% from the August 31st total of 13,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,840,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Based on an average daily volume of 3,840,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of COLB. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,742,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $317,802,000 after buying an additional 116,795 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,117,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $236,538,000 after buying an additional 64,096 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 18.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,948,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $209,220,000 after buying an additional 1,381,597 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,816,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $182,761,000 after buying an additional 149,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,606,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,452,000 after acquiring an additional 658,196 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 1.9%

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $26.41 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $25.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.34. Columbia Banking System has a 52 week low of $19.61 and a 52 week high of $32.85. The firm has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.60.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $511.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $492.00 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.98% and a return on equity of 11.31%. Columbia Banking System’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COLB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their price target on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Columbia Banking System from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $27.00 to $31.00 in a report on Monday, September 15th. Stephens upgraded Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $26.00 price objective (up from $22.00) on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.27.

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.