Financial Harvest LLC Makes New $53,000 Investment in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Financial Harvest LLC purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $53,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COLB. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 141.3% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 1st quarter worth about $118,000. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of COLB opened at $24.35 on Friday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.61 and a 52 week high of $32.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 16.85% and a return on equity of 11.12%. The firm had revenue of $481.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $482.86 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.91%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is presently 61.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on COLB. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Columbia Banking System from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.79.

About Columbia Banking System

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.