Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Shares Bought by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 193.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,769 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $2,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,187,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,495,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $192,941,000 after buying an additional 1,497,177 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter worth $4,461,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 40.8% during the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 83,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,142,000 after acquiring an additional 24,100 shares during the period. Finally, HoldCo Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $104,819,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Columbia Banking System to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.65.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $29.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $28.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.75. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.61 and a fifty-two week high of $31.11.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $715.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $693.23 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 17.11%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. This is a boost from Columbia Banking System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 65.49%.

Columbia Banking System Company 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.