Cadence Bank Acquires New Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Cadence Bank acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 333,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,591,000. Cadence Bank owned approximately 0.16% of Columbia Banking System at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 9,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 4.9% in the third quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 9,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1.2% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 37,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $976,000 after buying an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 19.5% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 4.8% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In other news, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total transaction of $403,926.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,241 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $63,308.25. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 100,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,838,249.25. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,206 shares of company stock valued at $531,859. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.04.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $26.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.60. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.61 and a 1 year high of $32.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.82.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $715.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 65.49%.

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.